tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365400862024-03-14T11:42:54.744+00:00Maxted MiscellanyAn assortment of items of personal interestJill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-28489875746680813202025-12-31T19:22:00.000+00:002020-01-26T11:11:45.473+00:00Place index to all Maxted Travel blogs<!A 8><hr /> <center><b>Maxted travel blogs. Combined index</b></center><br />
<!A 9><hr /> This combined guide to all Maxted Travels blogs links you to the start of each posting. To find the place within longer postings it may be necessary to use the browser's "find" function (Ctrl+F). Where an account extends over more than one posting, there are multiple index references. For some places with repeated visits (e.g. Caen) many references may be to visits to friends rather than description of the locality.<hr /> <br />
<!A x><hr /> <center><b>Quick links:</b></center><br />
<br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Albania">ALBANIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Andorra">ANDORRA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Austria">AUSTRIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Belgium">BELGIUM </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Bosnia">BOSNIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Bulgaria">BULGARIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Croatia">CROATIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Cyprus">CYPRUS </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Czech">CZECH REPUBLIC </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Denmark">DENMARK </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#England">ENGLAND </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Estonia">ESTONIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Finland">FINLAND </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France ">FRANCE </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Alsace"> - Alsace </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Aquitaine"> - Aquitaine </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Auvergne"> - Auvergne </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Bourgogne"> - Bourgogne </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Bretagne"> - Bretagne </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Champagne-Ardennes"> - Champagne-Ardennes </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Corsica"> - Corsica </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Franche-Comté"> - Franche-Comté </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Languedoc-Roussillon"> - Languedoc-Roussillon </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Limousin"> - Limousin </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Loire et Centre"> - Loire et Centre </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Lorraine"> - Lorraine </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Midi-Pyrénées"> - Midi-Pyrénées </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Nord"> - Nord </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Normandie"> - Normandie </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Paris et Ile-de-France"> - Paris et Ile-de-France </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Picardie"> - Picardie </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Poitou Charente"> - Poitou Charente </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Provence"> - Provence </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#France. Rhône-Alpes"> - Rhône-Alpes </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany ">GERMANY </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Baden-Wurttemberg"> - Baden-Wurttemberg </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Bayern"> - Bayern </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Berlin and Brandenburg"> - Berlin and Brandenburg </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Bremen"> - Bremen </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Hamburg"> - Hamburg </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Hessen"> - Hessen </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Mecklenberg"> - Mecklenberg </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Niedersachsen"> - Niedersachsen </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Nordrhein-Westfalen"> - Nordrhein-Westfalen </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz"> - Rheinland-Pfalz </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Sachsen"> - Sachsen </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Schleswig-Holstein"> - Schleswig-Holstein </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Germany. Thuringen"> - Thuringen </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Gibraltar">GIBRALTAR </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Greece">GREECE </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Greece. Attica">Attica </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Greece. Corfu">Corfu </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Greece. Epiros">Epiros </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Greece. Macedonia">Macedonia </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Greece. Peloponnese">Peloponnese </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Greece. Sterea Ellada">Sterea Ellada </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Greece. Thessaly">Thessaly </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Guatemala">GUATEMALA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Honduras">HONDURAS </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Hungary">HUNGARY </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Ireland">IRELAND </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Ireland. Eire"> - Eire </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Ireland. Northern Ireland"> - Northern Ireland </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Isle of Man">ISLE OF MAN </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Italy">ITALY </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Italy. Sardinia"> - Sardinia </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Latvia">LATVIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Liechtenstein">LIECHTENSTEIN </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Lithuania">LITHUANIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Luxembourg">LUXEMBOURG </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Macedonia">MACEDONIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Mexico">MEXICO </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Monaco">MONACO </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Morocco">MOROCCO </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Netherlands">NETHERLANDS </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Norway">NORWAY </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Poland">POLAND </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Portugal">PORTUGAL </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Romania">ROMANIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Russia">RUSSIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#San Marino">SAN MARINO </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Scotland">SCOTLAND </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Slovakia">SLOVAKIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Slovenia">SLOVENIA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain ">SPAIN </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Andalucia"> - Andalucia </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Aragon"> - Aragon </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Asturias"> - Asturias </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Cantabria"> - Cantabria </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Castilla la Mancha"> - Castilla la Mancha </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Castilla y Leon"> - Castilla y Leon </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Catalunya"> - Catalunya </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Extremadura"> - Extremadura </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Galicia"> - Galicia </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Pais Vasco"> - Pais Vasco </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Spain. Valencia"> - Valencia </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Sri Lanka">SRI LANKA </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Sweden">SWEDEN </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Switzerland">SWITZERLAND </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Trinidad">TRINIDAD </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Turkey">TURKEY </A> <br />
<!A> <a HREF="#Wales">WALES </A> <br />
<!C> <!A><center><b>Index of places within country and region</B></CENTER> <br />
<!C> ALBANIA <a NAME="Albania"></A> <br />
<!C> Albania. Sarandë. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/corfu.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> ANDORRA <a NAME="Andorra"></A> <br />
<!C> Andorra. Andorra. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/andorra-and-llivia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> AUSTRIA <a NAME="Austria"></A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Allgäu. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Bad Blumau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/hundertwasser-and-bad-blumau.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Braunau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/into-Bayern .html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Brenner Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/tyrol.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Gmünd. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/ciao-and-gruss-gott.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Graz. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/graz-austria.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Grein. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/crossing-europe.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Grein. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/lower-austria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Hainburg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/crossing-europe.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Hallstatt. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/salzkammergut.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Igles. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/tyrol.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Innsbruck. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/tyrol.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Innsbruck. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/austria.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Klagenfurt. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Klosterneuburg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/klosterneuburg.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Krems. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/crossing-europe.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Krems. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/lower-austria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Leoben. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/austria.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Lienz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/ciao-and-gruss-gott.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Lienz. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italy-into-austria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Linz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/salzkammergut.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Maltatal. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/ciao-and-gruss-gott.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Melk. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/lower-austria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Mondsee. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/salzburg-and-mondsee.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Mur Valley. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/austria.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Nussdorf am Attersee. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/salzburg-and-mondsee.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Passau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/lower-austria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Rattenburg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/austria.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Salzburg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/salzburg-and-mondsee.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Salzkammergut. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/salzkammergut.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Schärding. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/into-Bayern .html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Spittal an der Drau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/ciao-and-gruss-gott.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Spittle an der Drau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italy-into-austria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Vienna. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/tales-from-vienna-woods.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Vienna. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/vienna.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Austria. Wörgl. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/austria.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Austria. Zell am See. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/austria.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> BELGIUM <a NAME="Belgium"></A> <br />
<!C> Belgium. Antwerp. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/tuesday-17th-april-2012-antwerp-belgium.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Bachte-Maria-Leerne. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/belgium.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Bruges. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/belgium.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Brussels. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/belgium.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Dienze. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/belgium.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Ghent. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/belgium.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Knokke. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/belgian-coast-and-northern-france.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Plantin-Moretus Museum. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/plantin-moretus-museum-anwerp.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Silly. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/belgium.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Tournai. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/vimy-tournai-and-lille.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Vinkt. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/belgium.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Belgium. Ypres. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/belgium.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Berkshire. Wantage. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/returning-home.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> BOSNIA <a NAME="Bosnia"></A> <br />
<!C> Bosnia. Butmir. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/bosnia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Bosnia. Magistrala. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/bosnia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Bosnia. Mostar. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/bosnia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Bosnia. Neretva Canyon. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/bosnia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Bosnia. Sarajevo. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/bosnia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> BULGARIA <a NAME="Bulgaria"></A> <br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Biser. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/introducing-bulgaria.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Blageovgrad. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/blageovgrad.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Cherven. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/veiliko-tarnavo-to-ruse.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Dragizhevo. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/moving-on-at-last.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Iskar Valley. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/moving-on-at-last.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Ivanovo. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/veiliko-tarnavo-to-ruse.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Lovech. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/moving-on-at-last.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Plovdiv. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/introducing-bulgaria.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Plovdiv. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/rila-mountains.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Rila Monastery. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/rila-mountains.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Ruse. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/veiliko-tarnavo-to-ruse.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Sofia. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/sofia.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Stanke Lisichkovo. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/moving-on-at-last.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Stob Pyramids. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/blageovgrad.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Bulgaria. Veliko Tarnovo. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/veiliko-tarnavo-to-ruse.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Cambrigeshire. Cambridge. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/cambridge.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Cambrigeshire. Comberton. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/cambridge.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> CROATIA <a NAME="Croatia"></A> <br />
<!C> Croatia. Dalmatia. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/down-dalmatian-coast.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Dalmatia. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/split-and-dubrovnik.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Dubrovnik. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/split-and-dubrovnik.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Krk. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/down-dalmatian-coast.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Krk. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/vrh-to-krk.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Primosten. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/down-dalmatian-coast.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Sibenik. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/down-dalmatian-coast.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Skradin. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/down-dalmatian-coast.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Skradinski Buk. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/down-dalmatian-coast.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Slavonski Brod. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/bosnia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Slavonski Brod. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/from-croatia-into-hungary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Split. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/split-and-dubrovnik.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Stobrec. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/down-dalmatian-coast.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Trogir. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/down-dalmatian-coast.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Croatia. Vodice. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/down-dalmatian-coast.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Cumbria. M6. Fells. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/introducing-scotland-gretna-dumbarton.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> CYPRUS <a NAME="Cyprus"></A> <br />
<!C> Cyprus. Akanthou (Tatlisu). <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Akanthou (Tatlisu). <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/cyprus-part-1-salamis-and-famagusta.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Alps. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/cyprus-part-2-kyrenia-and-bellapais.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Antalya. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/cyprus-part-2-kyrenia-and-bellapais.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Bellapais (Beylerbeyi). <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Bellapais (Beylerbeyi). <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/cyprus-part-2-kyrenia-and-bellapais.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Famagusta (Gazimağusa). <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Famagusta (Gazimağusa). <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/cyprus-part-1-salamis-and-famagusta.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Gialousa (Yenierenköy) <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Karpaz <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Kyrenia (Girne). <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Kyrenia (Girne). <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/cyprus-part-2-kyrenia-and-bellapais.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Lapithos (Lapta). <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Messaiora Plain. <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Nicosia (Lefkoşa). <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Nicosia (Lefkoşa). <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/cyprus-part-1-salamis-and-famagusta.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Rizokarpaso (Dipkarpaz). <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Rizokarpaso (Dipkarpaz). <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/cyprus-part-1-salamis-and-famagusta.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Salamis. <a HREF="http://maxtedhomepage.blogspot.com/2018/03/cyprus-island-divided-through-time.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Cyprus. Salamis. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/cyprus-part-1-salamis-and-famagusta.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> CZECH REPUBLIC <a NAME="Czech"></A> <br />
<!C> Czech Republic. Benesov. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/prague-and-karlovy-vary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Czech Republic. Hodonin. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/bratislava.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Czech Republic. Jesenice. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/prague-and-karlovy-vary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Czech Republic. Jetrichovice. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/saxon-alps-and-oberlausitz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Czech Republic. Karlovy Vary. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/prague-and-karlovy-vary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Czech Republic. Konopiste. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/prague-and-karlovy-vary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Czech Republic. Marienbad. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/this-year-in-marienbad.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Czech Republic. Potucky. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/down-but-not-out-in-germany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Czech Republic. Prague. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/prague-and-karlovy-vary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Czech Republic. Trebric. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/bratislava.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> DENMARK <a NAME="Denmark"></A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Aabenraa. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/denmark-fairytales-runes-and-lego.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Bangsbo. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/from-danish-blue-to-jarlsberg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Broager. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/into-denmark.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Charlottenlund. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Charlottenlund. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Christianfeld. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Copenhagen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Ertebølle. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-jutland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Frederikshavn. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/from-danish-blue-to-jarlsberg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Haderslev. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/into-denmark.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Helsingør. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Hirtshals. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/from-danish-blue-to-jarlsberg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Hirtshals. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-jutland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Hjørring. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/from-danish-blue-to-jarlsberg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Humlebaek. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Hundested. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Jelling. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/denmark-fairytales-runes-and-lego.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Løgstør. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-jutland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Louisiana. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Møgeltønder. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/into-denmark.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Naesby Dale. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-jutland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Nustrup. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/into-denmark.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Odense. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/denmark-fairytales-runes-and-lego.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Randers. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-jutland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Roskilde. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Sæby. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/from-danish-blue-to-jarlsberg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Silkeborg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/denmark-fairytales-runes-and-lego.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Sjælland. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Skagen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/from-danish-blue-to-jarlsberg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Skagen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-jutland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Storebaeltbroen bridge. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Strandby. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/from-danish-blue-to-jarlsberg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Tønder. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/into-denmark.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Torup. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Denmark. Vejen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/denmark-fairytales-runes-and-lego.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Denmark. Vitskøl. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-jutland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Devon. Plymouth. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/04/semana-santander.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> ENGLAND <a NAME="England"></A> is divided into historical counties. Scotland and Wales have separate listings. <br />
<!C> England. Berkshire. Newbury. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/returning-home.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> England. Buckinghamshire. Buckingham. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/oxford.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> England. Buckinghamshire. Waddesdon Manor. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/convalescence.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> England. Cambridgeshire. Ely. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/kings-lynn-and-ely.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Cawsand. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/plymouth-and-cremyl.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Kingsand. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/plymouth-and-cremyl.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Lamorna. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Land’s End. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-3.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Land's End. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Marazion. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Mount Edgcumbe. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/plymouth-and-cremyl.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Pendeen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Penwith. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/roma-therapy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Penzance. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Penzance. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Penzance. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Penzance. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Porthcurno. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-3.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Saint Ives. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/roma-therapy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Saint Ives. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-3.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Saint Ives. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Saint Leven. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-3.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Saint Michael's Mount. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Sennen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Tresco, Scilly. <a HREF="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2007/01/scilly-pictures-text1-text2-text3.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> England. Cornwall. Trewellard. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-3.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Cumbria. Brampton. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/a-soggy-day-in-cumbria.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Cumbria. Kendal. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/a-soggy-day-in-cumbria.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Cumbria. Lake District. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Cumbria. Lanercost. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/a-soggy-day-in-cumbria.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Cumbria. Mirehouse. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Cumbria. Sedbergh. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/a-soggy-day-in-cumbria.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Cumbria. Silloth. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/a-soggy-day-in-cumbria.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Derbyshire. Buxton. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Derbyshire. New Mills. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Devon. Brixham. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/brixham.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Devon. Dalwood. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html">2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Devon. Dartmoor. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html">2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Devon. Exeter. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/maxted-travels-part-2.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C>England. Devon. Exeter. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Devon. Exeter. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-1.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Devon. Plymouth. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/plymouth-and-cremyl.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Devon. Seaton. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Devon. Teign Estuary. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/brixham.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Dorset. Poole. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/exploring-britain-5-purbeck.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Dorset. Purbeck. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/exploring-britain-5-purbeck.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Dorset. Swanage. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/exploring-britain-5-purbeck.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Dorset. Wareham. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/exploring-britain-5-purbeck.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Dorset. Weymouth. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/exploring-britain-5-purbeck.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Durham County. Barnard Castle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/barnard-castle-and-helmsbury.html">2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C>England. Durham County. Barnard Castle. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/no-way-to-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C>England. Durham County. Barnard Castle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Gloucestershire. Stanway. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C>England. Hampshire. Andover. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/returning-home.html">2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C>England. Hampshire. Lymington. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/convalescence.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C>England. Hampshire. Wherwell. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/done-roma-ing.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C>England. Hampshire. New Forest. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/convalescence.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C>England. Kent. Rochester. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/london-and-rochester.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C>England. Lancashire. Heysham. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/crossing-to-isle-of-man.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Lancashire. Morecombe. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/crossing-to-isle-of-man.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Lincolnshire. Lincoln. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html">2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Lincolnshire. Scampton. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Lincolnshire. Scunthorpe. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/scunthorpe.html">2016</A><br />
<!C>England. London. Central London. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/london-and-rochester.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C>England. London. Central London. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/convalescence.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C>England. London. Charlton. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. London. Greenwich. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/london-and-rochester.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C>England. London. Woolwich. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/london-and-rochester.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C>England. Norfolk. King's Lynn. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/kings-lynn-and-ely.html">2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C>England. Northumberland. Vindolanda. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/roma-therapy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C>England. Oxfordshire. Didcot. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/maxted-travels-part-2.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C>England. Oxfordshire. Oxford. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/oxford.html">2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C>England. Rutland. Oakham. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/family-and-rutland_8.html">2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C>England. Somerset. Porlock. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Somerset. Selworthy. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Somerset. Selworthy. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Somerset. Washford. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Somerset. Watchet. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Sussex. Brighton. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/all-things-brighton-dutiful.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C>England. Sussex. Sheffield Park. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Westmorland. Kirkby Lonsdale. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/roma-therapy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C>England. Wiltshire. Wilton. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/returning-home.html">2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Boston Spa. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/excursions-from-beverley.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Burton Agnes.<a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/excursions-from-beverley.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Guisborough. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/north-yorkshire.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Helmsley. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/barnard-castle-and-helmsbury.html">2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Pickering. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/north-yorkshire.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Pocklington. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Rievaulx Terrace. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/north-yorkshire.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Rievaulx. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/barnard-castle-and-helmsbury.html">2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Scarborough. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Scarborough. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/north-yorkshire.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Skirlaugh. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Thornton-le-Dale. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/north-yorkshire.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Wharram Percy. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/excursions-from-beverley.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. Whitby. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/north-yorkshire.html">2019</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. York. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/no-way-to-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. York. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C>England. Yorkshire. York. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/12/north-yorkshire.html">2019</A><br />
<!C> ESTONIA <a NAME="Estonia"></A> <br />
<!C> Estonia. Altja. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/lahemaa.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Käsmu. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/lahemaa.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Lahemaa National Park. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/lahemaa.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Lake Peipsi. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/south-east-estonia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Obinitsa. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/south-east-estonia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Palmse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/lahemaa.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Piusa sand caves. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/south-east-estonia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Rakvere. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/rakvere-and-tartu.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Räpina. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/south-east-estonia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Sagadi. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/lahemaa.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Tallinn. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/tallinn.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Tartu. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/rakvere-and-tartu.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Estonia. Vösu. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/lahemaa.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> FINLAND <a NAME="Finland"></A> <br />
<!C> Finland. Helsinki. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/helsinki.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Finland. Lappi. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/bog-blog.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Finland. Naantali. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/turku-and-naantali.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Finland. Rauma. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/bog-blog.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Finland. Säkylä. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/bog-blog.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Finland. Sammallahdenmäki. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/bog-blog.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Finland. Suomenlinna. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/helsinki.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Finland. Torronsuon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/bog-blog.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Finland. Turku. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/turku-and-naantali.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> FRANCE <a NAME="France"></A> is divided into regions. Recent changes may make some of these out of date. <br />
<!C> France. Caen. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/across-channel.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Chaillé-les-Marais. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/ile-de-re-and-vendee_20.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Chalon-sur-Saone. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/from-normandy-to-franche-comte.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Clairac. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/lot-and-garonne.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Coulmiers. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/from-normandy-to-franche-comte.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Couthures-sur-Garonne. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/lot-and-garonne.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Duras. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/lot-and-garonne.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Gorges de l'Ain. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/from-franche-comte-to-puy-en-velay.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Ivrey. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/from-normandy-to-franche-comte.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Mailly-le-Chateau. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/from-normandy-to-franche-comte.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Meilhan-sur-Garonne. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/lot-and-garonne.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Merry-sur-Yonne. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/from-normandy-to-franche-comte.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Montgaillard. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/foix-and-lourdes.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Mortagne-sur-Gironde. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/lot-and-garonne.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/across-channel.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Port des Barques. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/lot-and-garonne.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Port-Maubert. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/lot-and-garonne.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Puichéric. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/foix-and-lourdes.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Seurre. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/from-normandy-to-franche-comte.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> FRANCE. ALSACE-LORRAINE <a NAME="France. Alsace"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Barr. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Biesheim. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Colmar. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Colmar. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/montbeliard-belfort-and-colmar.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Contrexéville. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Eguisheim. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/alsace-and-vosges.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Hundsruck, Col. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/montbeliard-belfort-and-colmar.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Luneville. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/06/mainly-metz.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Masevaux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/montbeliard-belfort-and-colmar.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Metz. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/06/mainly-metz.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Molsheim <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Molsheim. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/heidelberg-and-buchsal.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Molsheim. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/from-bad-to-wurst.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Nancy. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/06/mainly-metz.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Neuf-Brisach. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Obernai. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Sélestat. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Strasbourg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/strasbourg.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Strasbourg. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Thann. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/montbeliard-belfort-and-colmar.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Turckheim, Les Trois Epis. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/alsace-and-vosges.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Vittel <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Alsace-Lorraine. Vosges. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/nancy-and-vosges.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> FRANCE. AQUITAINE <a NAME="France. Aquitaine"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Ainhoa. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/cantabria-to-gascony.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Aire-sur-l'Adour. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/with-friends-in-bearn.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Albas. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/villeneuve-and-bergerac.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Andrein. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-bearn.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Andrein. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/with-friends-in-bearn.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Basque country. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/basque-berets-and-baguettes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Bayonne. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/basque-berets-and-baguettes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Bearn. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/bearn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Béarn. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-bearn.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Bergerac. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/villeneuve-and-bergerac.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Bergerac. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/dordogne.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Biarritz. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/round-of-basque-villes.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Biarritz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/basque-berets-and-baguettes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Biarritz. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/aquitaine.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Biarritz. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/basque-country.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Blaye. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/through-france-to-northern-spain.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Bonaguil. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/villeneuve-and-bergerac.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Bordeaux. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/bordeaux-and-les-landes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Bordeaux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/aquitaine.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Bordeaux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seeking-some-sunshine.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Bordeaux. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Brouage. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Cadouin. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Cadouin. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/dordogne.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Cahors. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/villeneuve-and-bergerac.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Cambo-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/wholly-snug-on-holy-trail.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Cambo-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/basque-berets-and-baguettes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Capbreton. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/round-of-basque-villes.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Charron. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Ciboure. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/basque-country.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Dax. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/bearn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Domme. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Dordogne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Duras. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/aquitaine.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Espelettes. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-bearn.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Etang de Biscarrosse et de Parentis. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/bordeaux-and-les-landes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Eugénie-les-Bains. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/with-friends-in-bearn.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Font-de-Gaume. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Fumel. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/villeneuve-and-bergerac.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Gironde. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/ile-de-re.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Gironde. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/through-france-to-northern-spain.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Grand-Village. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Hendaye. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/basque-berets-and-baguettes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Hendaye. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/basque-country.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Ile-Madame <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. La Brède. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/aquitaine.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. La Réole. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/aquitaine.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. La Roque Gageac. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Laas. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/with-friends-in-bearn.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Lalinde. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Lalinde. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/dordogne.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Léoville. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Les Eyziers-de-Tayac-Sirueil. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/dordogne.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Les Landes. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/through-france-to-northern-spain.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Les Landes. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/bordeaux-and-les-landes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Limeuil. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/dordogne.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Marmande. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/lot-and-garonne.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Molières. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Monflanquin. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/villeneuve-and-bergerac.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Monpazier. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Monségur. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/lot-and-garonne.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Monségur. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/aquitaine.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Navarrenx. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/with-friends-in-bearn.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Navarrenx. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/bearn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Nogaro. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/rose-red-cities.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Orthez. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/wholly-snug-on-holy-trail.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Orthez. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/bearn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Orthez. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-bearn.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Orthez. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/with-friends-in-bearn.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Pau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/bearn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Pauillac. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Penne. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/villeneuve-and-bergerac.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Perigueux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/potiers-and-perigueux.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Pouy. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/bearn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Prayssas. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/with-friends-in-bearn.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Pujols. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/villeneuve-and-bergerac.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Royan. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Saint-Jean-de-Luz. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/round-of-basque-villes.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Saint-Jean-de-Luz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/basque-berets-and-baguettes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Saint-Jean-de-Luz. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/basque-country.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/bearn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Saint-Macaire. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/aquitaine.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Saint-Palais. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/bearn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Salies-de-Béarn. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/wholly-snug-on-holy-trail.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Salies-de-Béarn. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/cantabria-to-gascony.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Salies-de-Béarn. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/bearn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Salies-de-Béarn. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-bearn.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Sauveterre. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/wholly-snug-on-holy-trail.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Sauveterre. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/bearn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Sauveterre-de-Béarn. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-bearn.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Sauveterre-de-Guyenne. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seeking-some-sunshine.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Socoa. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/basque-country.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Soustons. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/round-of-basque-villes.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Soustons. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/round-of-basque-villes.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Surgères. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Thiviers. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/potiers-and-perigueux.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Tournon d'Agenais. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Urrugne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/wholly-snug-on-holy-trail.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Urrugne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/wholly-snug-on-holy-trail.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Urrugne. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/basque-berets-and-baguettes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Urrugne. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/basque-country.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Val de Vesère. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/dordogne.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Verdon-sur-Mer. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Villeneuve-sur-Lot. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/villeneuve-and-bergerac.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Aquitaine. Vosges. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/alsace-and-vosges.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> FRANCE. AUVERGNE <a NAME="France. Auvergne"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Ambert. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Ambert. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/paper-and-print.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Auvergne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/villandry-vegetables-volcanoes-and.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Auvergne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/clermont-ferrand-and-auvergne.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Châtelguyon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/villandry-vegetables-volcanoes-and.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Clermont-Ferrand. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/clermont-ferrand-and-auvergne.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Garabit. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Gorge de la Truyère Auvergne. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Gour de Tazenat. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/villandry-vegetables-volcanoes-and.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Issoire. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/from-auvergne-into-provence.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Issoire. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Issoire. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/auvergne.html"> 2016</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Le Puy-en-Velay. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Lempdes-sur-Allagnon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Mont-d'Or. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/clermont-ferrand-and-auvergne.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Néris-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/villandry-vegetables-volcanoes-and.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Pradeaux, Col. (Auvergne). <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Puy de Dome. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/clermont-ferrand-and-auvergne.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Puy de Sancy. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/clermont-ferrand-and-auvergne.html"> 2006</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Puy de Sancy. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/clermont-ferrand-and-auvergne.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Puy-en-Velay. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/from-franche-comte-to-puy-en-velay.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Royat. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/clermont-ferrand-and-auvergne.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Saint-Flour. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Saint-Nectaire. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/from-auvergne-into-provence.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Saint-Nectaire. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/auvergne.html"> 2016</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Usson. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Vichy. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/vichy.html"> 2016</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Vic-le-Comte. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/languedoc-to-normandy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Volvic. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/villandry-vegetables-volcanoes-and.html"> 2006</A><br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Volvic. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/villandry-vegetables-volcanoes-and.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Auvergne. Volvic. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/auvergne.html"> 2016</A> <br />
<!C> FRANCE. BOURGOGNE <a NAME="France. Bourgogne"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Autun. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/back-to-france.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Autun. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/mainly-about-friends.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Auxonne <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Avallon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Beaune. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/back-to-jura.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Beaune. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/wedding-invitation.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Bèze. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/return-to-franche-conte.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Bourbon-Lancy. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/across-france-to-jura.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Butte de Thil. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Château-Chinon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seeking-sun.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Châtillon-en-Bazois. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/champagne-sur-loue-at-last_22.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Cîteaux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Dijon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/toodle-loo-to-loue.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Dijon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Fontaine-Française. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/return-to-franche-conte.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Guedelon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/wedding-invitation.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Joigny. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/mainly-chartres.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Lac des Settons. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/back-to-france.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Louhans. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Louhans. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/across-france-to-jura.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Lux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/return-to-franche-conte.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Mâcon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Morvan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Moulins-Engilbert. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Nuits-Saint-Georges. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Puligny-Montrachet. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/mainly-about-friends.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Quarré-les-Tombes. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Saint-Fargeau. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/from-normandy-to-franche-comte.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Saint-Florentin. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/mainly-chartres.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Saint-Germain-Source-Seine . <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Saint-Saulge. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/champagne-sur-loue-at-last_22.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisay. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Saint-Seine-l’Abbaye. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Sens. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/across-north-east-france.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Sens. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/fontainbleau-and-milly-la-fort.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. St Leger-Vauban. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. St. Thibault-en-Auxois. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Vermenton. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Bourgogne. Vézelay. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy-and-franche-comte.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> FRANCE. BRETAGNE <a NAME="France. Bretagne"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Abbaye du Bon Repos. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/lannion-and-tregastel.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Arzou. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Auray. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/carnac-and-quiberon.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Autun. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Batz-sur-Mer. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Baule. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Beaune. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Beuzec-Cap-Sizun. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Brest. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/finistere.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Cancale. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/tour-de-france.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Cap de la Chèvre. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Cap de la Chèvre. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Cap Fréhel. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-1.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Carantec. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Carnac. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/around-coast-of-brittany.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Carnac. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/carnac-and-quiberon.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Carnac. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/carnac-and-quiberon.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Château Dinan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Cleder. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-2.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Concarneau. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/southern-brittany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Concarneau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/quimper-and-concarneau.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Concarneau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/quimper-and-concarneau.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Conleau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/vannes.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Crozon Peninsula. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Dinan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/dinan.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Dinard. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/dinard-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Dol-de-Bretagne. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/tour-de-france.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Dol-de-Bretagne. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/dinard-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Douarnenez. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Douarnenez. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Faou <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Finistère. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/finistere.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Forest-Fouesnant. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/quimper-and-concarneau.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Forest-Fouesnant. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/quimper-and-concarneau.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Forges-des-Salles. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/lannion-and-tregastel.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Gouerest <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Guérande. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Guerlédan, Lac. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/josselin-and-pontivy.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Guimiliau. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Guimiliau. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/finistere.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Guissény <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Guissény. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Guissény. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/guissny.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Guissény. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/finistere.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Guissény. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-1.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Guissény. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-2.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Huelgoat. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/finistere.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Huelgoet. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Ile des Moines. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Josselin. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/josselin-and-pontivy.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Josselin. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Jugon-les-Lacs. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Kerfissien. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Kerlouan. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Koréjou. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-1.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. La Baule. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. La Roche Bernard. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/from-quimper-to-vannes-in-camper-van.html"> 2006</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. La Roche Bernard. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/from-quimper-to-vannes-in-camper-van.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. La Roche Bernard. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. La Roche-Bernard. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Lampaul-Guimiliau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-2.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Lampaul-Guimiliau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Lampaul-Guimiliau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Lampaul-Guimiliau. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Landerneau. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/finistere.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Landerneau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-2.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Landevennec <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Landivisiau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Landivisiau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Lannion. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/lannion-and-tregastel.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Le Conquet. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-1.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Le Croisic. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Le Folgoët. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-2.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Locronan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Locronan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Loctudy. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Lorient. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/southern-brittany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Malestroit. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Menez Hom. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Menez Hom. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Mespaul. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Mespaul. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Mespaul. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Morbihan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/vannes.html"> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Morbihan. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/from-quimper-to-vannes-in-camper-van.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Morbihan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Morbihan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/vannes.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Morbihan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/carnac-and-quiberon.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Morgat. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Morlaix. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Morlaix. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Mur-de-Bretagne. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/josselin-and-pontivy.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pabu. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pen Cadenic. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pen Cadenic. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pen Castel. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pen Castle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Penmarch. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Perros-Guirec. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/lannion-and-tregastel.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Piriac-sur-Mer. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Plévenon. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pleyben. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/finistere.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Ploërmel. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Plouescat. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Plouezoc'h. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Plougastel-Saint-Germain. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Plouguernou. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pointe de Dinan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pointe de Dinan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pointe de St. Mathieu. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-1.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pointe du Grouin. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/tour-de-france.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pointe du Penhir. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/around-coast-of-brittany.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pointe du Van <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pointe du Van. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/around-coast-of-brittany.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pointe l'Abbé. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/around-coast-of-brittany.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pointe-Saint-Mathieu. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pont-Aven. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/southern-brittany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pont-Aven. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/carnac-and-quiberon.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pont-Croix. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/around-coast-of-brittany.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pontivy. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/josselin-and-pontivy.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Pont-l'Abbé <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Port-Heliguen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/carnac-and-quiberon.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Port-Louis. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/southern-brittany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Port-Navalo. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Quiberon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/carnac-and-quiberon.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Quimper. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/around-coast-of-brittany.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Quimper. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/quimper-and-concarneau.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Quimperle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/carnac-and-quiberon.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Quintin. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Redon. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Rhuys, Presqu'ile. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Roche-Bernard. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Rochefort-en-Terre. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Roscoff. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/finistere.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Roscoff. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Rosporden. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/southern-brittany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Aubin. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/tour-de-france.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Sainte-Marie-du-Menez-Hom. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Goustan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/carnac-and-quiberon.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Nazaire. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Philibert. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/carnac-and-quiberon.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Pierre, Penmarch. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Pol-de-Léon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/finisterre-part-2.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Pol-de-Léon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Pol-de-Léon. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Pol-de-Léon. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Thegonnec. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/brittany-and-friends.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Saint-Thégonnec. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/finistere.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Sarzeau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Sarzeau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Sizun. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/brittany.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. St Goustan. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/from-quimper-to-vannes-in-camper-van.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Suscino, Chateau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Tour-du-Parc. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/presquile-de-rhuys.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Tregastel. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/lannion-and-tregastel.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Tréguier. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/lannion-and-tregastel.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Vannes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/from-quimper-to-vannes-in-camper-van.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Vannes. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/vannes.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Bretagne. Vannes. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/vannes.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> FRANCE. CHAMPAGNE-ARDENNES <a NAME="France. Champagne-Ardennes"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Ardenne. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hunsruck-and-ardenne.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Bar-sur-Seine . <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Chalons-en-Champagne. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/beauvais-rouen-honfleur.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Chalons-en-Champagne. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/06/drive-me-to-moon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Champagne. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/beauvais-rouen-honfleur.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/across-north-east-france.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Lac d'Orient. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/mainly-chartres.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Lac du Der-Chantecoq. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/mainly-chartres.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Liesse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hunsruck-and-ardenne.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Montmirail <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/troyes-to-montmirail.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Romilly-sur-Seine. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/trier-luxembourg-and-northern-france.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Sainte-Menehould. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/trier-luxembourg-and-northern-france.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Sainte-Menehould. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/trier-luxembourg-and-northern-france.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Sedan. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hunsruck-and-ardenne.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Troyes <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/troyes-to-montmirail.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Champagne-Ardennes. Troyes. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/across-north-east-france.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> FRANCE. CORSICA <a NAME="France. Corsica"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. A Cupulatta. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/corte.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Ajaccio. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/ajaccio-to-porto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Aleria. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/cap-corse-and-cucuruzzu.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Bastia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/arrival-in-corsica.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Bavella. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/cap-corse-and-cucuruzzu.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Bocognano. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/corte.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Bonifacio. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/bonifacio-and-porto-vecchio.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Calvi. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/porto-to-calvi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Campomoro. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/sartene-fozzano-and-filitosa.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Cap Corse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/cap-corse-and-cucuruzzu.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Cap de Roccapina. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/bonifacio-and-porto-vecchio.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Cargèse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/ajaccio-to-porto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Corte. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/corte.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Cucuruzzu. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/cap-corse-and-cucuruzzu.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Désert des Agriates. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/porto-to-calvi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Erbalunga. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/cap-corse-and-cucuruzzu.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Filitosa. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/sartene-fozzano-and-filitosa.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Fozzano. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/sartene-fozzano-and-filitosa.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Galéria. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/porto-to-calvi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Ile-Rousse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/porto-to-calvi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. La Canonica. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/cap-corse-and-cucuruzzu.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Les Calanche. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/ajaccio-to-porto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Nebbio. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/arrival-in-corsica.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Nonza. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/cap-corse-and-cucuruzzu.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Olmeta. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/sartene-fozzano-and-filitosa.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Patrimonia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/arrival-in-corsica.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Piana. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/ajaccio-to-porto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Porto Vecchio. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/bonifacio-and-porto-vecchio.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Porto. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/ajaccio-to-porto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Propriano. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/sartene-fozzano-and-filitosa.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Restonica. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/corte.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. San Michele de Murato. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/arrival-in-corsica.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Sartène. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/sartene-fozzano-and-filitosa.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. St. Florent. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/arrival-in-corsica.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. St. Florent. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/cap-corse-and-cucuruzzu.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Urtaca. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/porto-to-calvi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Corsica. Zonza. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/cap-corse-and-cucuruzzu.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> FRANCE. FRANCHE-COMTE <a NAME="France. Franche-Comté"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Amancey. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy-and-franche-comte.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/back-to-france.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/try-before-you-buy.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/foret-de-chaux-and-haut-jura.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/mainly-about-water.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arc et Senans. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/back-to-france.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arc-et-Senans. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/champagne-sur-loue-at-last_22.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arc-et-Senans. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/vendange.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arc-et-Senans. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Arc-et-Senans</A>. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Baume des Planches. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/mainly-about-water.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Baume-les-Messieurs. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Belfort. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/montbeliard-belfort-and-colmar.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Besançon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Besançon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Besançon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Besançon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/christmas-in-franche-comte.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Besançon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/champagne-wedding.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Besançon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Billaude, Cascade. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Bracon. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Buffard. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Buffard. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/back-to-france.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Buffard. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/buboes-on-our-butties.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Buffard. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/halle-loue-ja-chorus.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Buffard. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Cascades du Hérisson. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/champagne-sur-loue-at-last_22.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy-and-franche-comte.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/back-to-france.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/vendange.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/mainly-about-friends.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/champagne-on-ice.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/christmas-in-franche-comte.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/return-to-franche-conte.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/champagne-wedding.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/06/drive-me-to-moon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagnole. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/foret-de-chaux-and-haut-jura.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Champagnole. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/06/drive-me-to-moon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Château de Joux. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/buboes-on-our-butties.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Château-Chalon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Chissey. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Chissey. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Chissey-sur-Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Cirq du Fer à Cheval. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/back-to-france.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Clairvaux-les-Lacs. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Cléron. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Cuisance. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/mainly-about-water.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Dôle. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Dôle. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Dôle. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/champagne-on-ice.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Dôle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/return-to-franche-conte.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Dôle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/wedding-invitation.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Dôle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Foncine-le-Haut. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Forêt de Chaux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/foret-de-chaux-and-haut-jura.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Fraisans. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Gray. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Gray. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/return-to-franche-conte.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Grotte d'Osselle. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Hérisson. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Ivry. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/buboes-on-our-butties.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Jura. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Lac de Joux. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Lac de Maclu. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/foret-de-chaux-and-haut-jura.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Langouette, Gorges. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Les Fourgs. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/buboes-on-our-butties.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Les Rousses. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Liesle. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/champagne-on-ice.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Lison, Source. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Lison. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/halle-loue-ja-chorus.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Lombard. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Lons-le-Saunier. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Lons-Le-Saunier. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Loue. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Loulle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Malbuisson. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/across-france-to-jura.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Mont d'Or. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Mont Poupet. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Mont Poupet. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/buboes-on-our-butties.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Mont Poupet. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Montbéliard. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/montbeliard-belfort-and-colmar.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Montigny-lès-Arsures. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/toodle-loo-to-loue.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Mouchard. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Mouthiers-Haute-Pierre. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Nans-sous-Ste.Anne. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/halle-loue-ja-chorus.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Nozeroy. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Nozeroy. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/06/drive-me-to-moon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Orchamps. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Ornans. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Ornans. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/buboes-on-our-butties.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Ornans. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Ornans. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/mainly-about-water.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Pagnoz. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Pesmes. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/buboes-on-our-butties.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Pesmes. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/return-to-franche-conte.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Pic de l'Aigle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/foret-de-chaux-and-haut-jura.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Planches-en-Montagne. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/06/drive-me-to-moon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/vendange.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/hunters-tale.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/foret-de-chaux-and-haut-jura.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Pontarlier. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/back-to-jura.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Pontarlier. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Port Lesney. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/hunters-tale.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Port-Lesney. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Quingey. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Quingey. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/foret-de-chaux-and-haut-jura.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Quingey. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Recologne. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/buboes-on-our-butties.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Reculée des Planches. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Renédale. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Ronchamp. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Saint-Claude. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Salin-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Salin-les-Bains. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Salins-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Salins-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Salins-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/try-before-you-buy.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Salins-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Source de la Loue. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Source du Lison. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Source du Lison. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Syam. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Syam. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/06/drive-me-to-moon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Vallorbe. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Vesoul. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/buboes-on-our-butties.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Franche-Comté. Villers Robert. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Hauts-de-France. Amiens. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Hauts-de-France. Guise. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/guise.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Hauts-de-France. Villers-Bretonneux <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> FRANCE. LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON <a NAME="France. Languedoc-Roussillon"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Agde. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/pigs-paintings-and-poubelles.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Aigne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cathar-country.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Aigues-Mortes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/around-camargue.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Alès. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Ambre-les-Espagnolettes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/into-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Amélie-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/homage-to-catalona.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Arles-sur-Tech. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/homage-to-catalona.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Assignan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/back-in-midi.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Barroubio. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/back-in-midi.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Bassin de Thau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Bédarieux. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cathar-country.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Bédarieux. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/baubles-at-boubals.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Berlou. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/st-chinian-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Berlou. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Béziers. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Béziers. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/into-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Béziers. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/look-back-in-ambre.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Béziers. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/ambre-les-espagnolettes.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Béziers. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/moving-on.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Béziers. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/back-in-midi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Béziers. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/visitors.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Boubals. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cathar-country.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Boubals. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/baubles-at-boubals.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Boubals. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/languedoc.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Canal du Midi. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/storms-and-floods.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Canal du Midi. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Canal du Midi. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/visitors.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cap d'Agde. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cap d'Agde. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/truffles-and-troubadours.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cap d'Agde</A>. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/into-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Capestang. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/starting-to-feel-like-christmas-at.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Capestang. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Capestang. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/valley-of-orb.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Capestang. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Carcasonne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/pigs-paintings-and-poubelles.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Carcassonne. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/winter-in-midi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cassagnas. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Castelbouc. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/via-millau-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Castillon-du-Gard. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/ambre-les-espagnolettes.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Castres. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/pigs-paintings-and-poubelles.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Causse de Larzac. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Causse du Larsac. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Causses. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/languedoc-to-normandy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Caylar</A>. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cazoules-lès-Béziers. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/ambre-les-espagnolettes.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Céret. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/homage-to-catalona.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cessenon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/st-chinian-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Chasseradès. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cheylard l’Evêque. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cirque de Navacelles. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/ups-and-downs-of-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cirque de Navacelles. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Collioure, Perpignan, Quéribus. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/catalonia.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Collioure. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/catalonia.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Collioure. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/Roussillon.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Corniche des Cevennes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cruzy. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/starting-to-feel-like-christmas-at.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cruzy. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/winter-in-midi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cruzy. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-lost.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Ecluses de Fonseranes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/storms-and-floods.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Enserune. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Escagnes. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Espinouse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/valley-of-orb.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Espinousses. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Etang de Canet. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/Roussillon.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Florac. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Florac. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Fonseranes. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/castres-and-minervois.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Fontcaude. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Fontcaude. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cathar-country.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Fontcaude. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/starting-to-feel-like-christmas-at.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Ganges. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Gevaudan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Gevaudan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Gimeo. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/back-in-midi.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Gorge d'Héric. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/ups-and-downs-of-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Gorges de Galamus. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/castles-of-cathars.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Gorges de l'Hérault. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Gorges d'Héric. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Gorges du Tarn. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Gorges du Tarn. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/via-millau-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Goudet. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Grau d'Agde. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/truffles-and-troubadours.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Hautes-Rives. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/via-millau-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Herault. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Herepian. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Héric, Gorges. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/visitors.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Joncels. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/valley-of-orb.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. La Clape. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/moving-on.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. la Grande Motte. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/around-camargue.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. La Salvetat. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/look-back-in-ambre.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. La Salvetat. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lac du Bouchet. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lac du Salagou. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/ups-and-downs-of-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lac du Salagou. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/ups-and-downs-of-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lamalou. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/baubles-at-boubals.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lamalou. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/baubles-at-boubals.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lamalou. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lamalou. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/languedoc.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Langogne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Languedoc. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/languedoc.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lastours. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/castles-of-cathars.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Le Moulin de la Roque. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cathar-country.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Limoux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/homage-to-catalona.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lodève. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/ups-and-downs-of-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lodève. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Loupian. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Luc. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Lunas. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/valley-of-orb.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Malene. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/via-millau-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Malpas. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Marseillan. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/baubles-at-boubals.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Marseillan. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Marseillan. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/sete.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Marvejols. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Mende. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Meyrueis. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Meze. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Mèze. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/around-camargue.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Mèze. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/around-camargue.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Mézeilles. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Minerve. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cathar-country.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Minerve. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Minerve. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/castres-and-minervois.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Minerve. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/visitors.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Montady. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/castres-and-minervois.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Montpellier. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/baubles-at-boubals.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Narbonne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/storms-and-floods.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Narbonne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/storms-and-floods.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Narbonne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/starting-to-feel-like-christmas-at.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Narbonne. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Narbonne. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/winter-in-midi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Narbonne. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Nîmes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/nimes-and-avignon.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Notre-Dame-des-Neiges. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Olargues. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Olargues. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cathar-country.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Olargues. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/visitors.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Oppidum d'Ensérune. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/pigs-paintings-and-poubelles.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Perpignan. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/catalonia.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Perpignan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/homage-to-catalona.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Peyrepertuse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/castles-of-cathars.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Pezenas. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cathar-country.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Pezenas. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cathar-country.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Pezenas. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Pezenas. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/moving-on.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Pezenas. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/around-herault.html"> 2017</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Pic de Tantajo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/winter-in-midi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Pierre-Lys, Défilé. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/homage-to-catalona.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Pont de Montvert. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Prades. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/via-millau-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Prades-sur-Vernazobre. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Puisserguier. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Quéribus. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/catalonia.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Rennes-le-Château. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/wholly-snug-on-holy-trail.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Roquebrun. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/storms-and-floods.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Roquebrun. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Roquebrun. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/languedoc.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Roquebrun. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/valley-of-orb.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Roquebrun. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/visitors.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Roquebrun. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Roquefort. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Roussillon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/Roussillon.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Chinian. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/into-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Chinian. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/look-back-in-ambre.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Chinian. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/starting-to-feel-like-christmas-at.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Chinian. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/starting-to-feel-like-christmas-at.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Chinian. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/st-chinian-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Chinian. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Chinian. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/languedoc.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Chinian. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/languedoc-to-normandy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Chinian. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/back-in-midi.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Chinian. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Sainte-Enimie. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Sainte-Enimie. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/via-millau-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Etienne d'Issenac. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Germain-de-Calberte. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/baubles-at-boubals.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/winter-in-midi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Gilles. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/nimes-and-avignon.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/ups-and-downs-of-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Hippolyte du Fort. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Jean-du-Gard. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Martin-de-Fugères. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Pons. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/into-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Pons. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Pons. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/languedoc.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Pons. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/truffles-and-troubadours.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Pons. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/visitors.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saint-Pons-de- Thomières. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Saissac. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Salvetat-sur-Agout. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Sète. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/starting-to-feel-like-christmas-at.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Sète. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/winter-in-midi.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Sète. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/sete.html"> 2017</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Somail, Le. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-lost.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Sommet de Finiels. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Thuir. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/homage-to-catalona.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Valras Plage. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/truffles-and-troubadours.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Valras-Plage. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/visitors.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Vieussan. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/ups-and-downs-of-languedoc.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Vieussan. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/moving-on.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Vieussan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/visitors.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Vieussan. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/return-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Villegly. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/homage-to-catalona.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Villemagne l'Argentière. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/03/villemagne-largentiere.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Villeneuvette. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/valley-of-orb.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> FRANCE. LIMOUSIN <a NAME="France. Limousin"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Limousin. Beynac et Cazenac. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Limousin. Chalus. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/potiers-and-perigueux.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Limousin. Oradour sur Glane. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/how-far-has-mankind-progressed.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> FRANCE. LOIRE ET CENTRE <a NAME="Loire et Centre"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Amboise. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/loire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Amboise. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/chilly-jilly.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Amboise. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/rural-france-in-winter.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Amboise. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/with-friends-on-loire.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Ancenis. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/southern-brittany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Angers. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/crossing-la-loire.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Azay-le-Rideau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/ikea-experience.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Azay-le-Rideau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/crossing-la-loire.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Beaufort-en-Vallée. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/crossing-la-loire.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Blois. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/blois-and-montresor.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Blois. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/farewell-to-loire.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Bois-de-Céné. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/nantes.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Bourges. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/across-france-to-jura.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Briare. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chambord. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/loire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chambord. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/crossing-la-loire.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chapelle d’Angillon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chartres. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/mainly-chartres.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chartres. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Château de Candé (Mons). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/ikea-experience.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Château de Saché. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/ikea-experience.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Châteaudun. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/champagne-sur-loue-at-last_22.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Châteaudun. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/across-france-to-jura.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Château-Renault. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/rural-france-in-winter.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chaumont. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/loire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chaumont-sur-Loire. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/ikea-experience.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chedigny. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/loire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chenonceau. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/loire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chenonceaux. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/with-friends-on-loire.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Chinon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/crossing-la-loire.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Clos Lucé (Amboise). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/with-friends-on-loire.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Descartes. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/roma-therapy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Frazé. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/champagne-sur-loue-at-last_22.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Gien. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy-and-franche-comte.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Gien. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/back-to-france.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Gien. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/languedoc-to-normandy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Gien. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Ile d'Or (Amboise). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/vendome.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Jargeau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/done-roma-ing.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. La Charité-sur-Loire. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/languedoc-to-normandy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. La Ferté-Vidame. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/la-dame-aux-camelias.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. La Fourchette. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/blois-and-montresor.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Lassay-les-Châteaux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/france-using-byways.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Laval. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/mayenne-and-calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Laval. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/heading-for-home.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Lavardin. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/homeward-bound.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Lavardin. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/rural-france-in-winter.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Le Vieil, Noirmoutier. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. L'Épine, Noirmoutier. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Loches. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/homeward-bound.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Loches. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/mainly-about-friends.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Loches. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/farewell-to-loire.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Loches. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/roma-therapy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Loches. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/france-using-byways.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Loches. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Loire Valley. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/villandry-vegetables-volcanoes-and.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Loire valley. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/loire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Luçon. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/mayenne-and-calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Luynes. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/crossing-la-loire.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Marais de la Vendée. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/mayenne-and-calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Mayenne. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/mayenne-and-calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Montlouis. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/with-friends-on-loire.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Montlouis-sur-Loire. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/ikea-experience.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Montoire-sur-le-Loir. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/rural-france-in-winter.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Montrésor. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/blois-and-montresor.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Nantes. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/southern-brittany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Nantes. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/nantes.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Noirmoutier. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Orléans. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/done-roma-ing.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Pocé. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/homeward-bound.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Pocé-sur-Cisse. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/loire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Pocé-sur-Cisse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/chilly-jilly.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Pocé-sur-Cisse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/rural-france-in-winter.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Pocé-sur-Cisse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/blois-and-montresor.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Pocé-sur-Cisse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/farewell-to-loire.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Pocé-sur-Cisse. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/with-friends-on-loire.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Pontlevoy. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/with-friends-on-loire.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Sainte-Radegonde-des-Noyers. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/07/western-seaboard-of-france.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Saint-Marceau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/mainly-about-friends.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Saint-Ouen-des-Vignes. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/chilly-jilly.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Saumur. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/crossing-la-loire.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Talmont-St-Hilaire. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/ile-de-re-and-vendee_20.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Tours. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/rural-france-in-winter.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Tours. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/ikea-experience.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Tours. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/vendome.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Vendôme. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/vendome.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Villandry. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/villandry-vegetables-volcanoes-and.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Loire et Centre. Vouvray. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/rural-france-in-winter.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> FRANCE. LORRAINE <a NAME="Lorraine"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Ars-sur-Moselle. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/nancy-and-domremy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Bar-le-Duc. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/mainly-chartres.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Domrémy. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/nancy-and-domremy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Epinal. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/alsace-and-vosges.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Gazon du Faing. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/alsace-and-vosges.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Grand (Andesina). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/across-north-east-france.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Lunéville. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/nancy-and-vosges.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Nancy (art nouveau). <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/ecole-de-nancy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Nancy. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/nancy-and-domremy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Nancy. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/nancy-and-vosges.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Neufchâteau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/across-north-east-france.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Pont-à-Mousson. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/nancy-and-domremy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Toul. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/mainly-chartres.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Verdun. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/verdun.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Lorraine. Vittel. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/alsace-and-vosges.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées <a NAME="Midi-Pyrénées"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Albi. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/rose-red-cities.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Albi. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/rose-red-cities.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Albi. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Auch. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/rose-red-cities.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Aveyron. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Aveyron. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/languedoc-to-normandy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Brassac. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/castres-and-minervois.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Cahors. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Cajarc. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Calvignac. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Castelnau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/bordeaux-and-les-landes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Castres. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/castres-and-minervois.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Condom. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/cantabria-to-gascony.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Condom. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/with-friends-in-bearn.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Cordes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/rose-red-cities.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Foix. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/wholly-snug-on-holy-trail.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Foix. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/foix-and-lourdes.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Fourcés. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/cantabria-to-gascony.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Gorge de La Jonte. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Lacaune. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/look-back-in-ambre.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Lacaune. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Lelin-Lapujolle. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/cantabria-to-gascony.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Lot. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Lourdes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/wholly-snug-on-holy-trail.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Lourdes. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/foix-and-lourdes.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Mazamet. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/castles-of-cathars.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Mazamet. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Millau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/around-herault.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Millau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Millau. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/07/via-millau-to-languedoc.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Monastiés. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Montségur. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/wholly-snug-on-holy-trail.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Najac. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Pujol. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/cantabria-to-gascony.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Revel. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Saint-Rome-de-Tarn. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/languedoc-to-normandy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Sévérac. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/languedoc-to-normandy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. St. Cirq Lapopie. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/rose-red-cities.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Vabres l'Abbaye. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Midi-Pyrénées. Villefranche de Rouergue. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/midi-pyrenees.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Nord <a NAME="France. Nord"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Nord. Arras. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/of-merit.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Nord. Azincourt. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/once-more-unto-breach.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Nord. Calais. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/calais-and-dunkirk.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Nord. Cap Gris Nez. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/calais-and-dunkirk.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Nord. Dunkirk. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/calais-and-dunkirk.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Nord. Gravelines. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/calais-and-dunkirk.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Nord. Lille. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/vimy-tournai-and-lille.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Nord. Vimy. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/vimy-tournai-and-lille.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie <a NAME="France. Normandie"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Abbaye de Hambye. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Abbaye St. Martin de Mondaye. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/tapisseries-and-patisseries.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Aizier. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/returning-home.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Alençon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/back-to-jura.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Argentan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/la-dame-aux-camelias.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Arromanches. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Arromanches. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/d-day.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Avranches. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/cotentin-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Avranches. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/cotentin.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bagnoles-de-L'Orne. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Balleroy. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/tapisseries-and-patisseries.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Barfleur. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Barfleur. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/1066-to-1944.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bavent. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bayeux. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bayeux. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/caen-and-home.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bayeux. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/back-to-normandy.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bayeux. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/d-day.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bayeux. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/tapisseries-and-patisseries.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bayeux. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/normandy-and-home.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bayeux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bayeux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/april-in-paris.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bayeux. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/1066-to-1944.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Benouville. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/tour-de-france.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Blainville-sur-Mer. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/france-using-byways.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Bocage. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/wedding-invitation.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Brecy. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/1066-to-1944.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Brécy. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/returning-home.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Briquebec. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/cotentin.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Cabourg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/normandy-and-home.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Cabourg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/tour-de-france.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Cabourg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/back-to-europe.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Cabourg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/wedding-invitation.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/champagne-sur-loue-at-last_22.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/homeward-bound.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/caen-again.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/maxted-travels-part-2.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy-and-franche-comte.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/back-to-france.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/mayenne-and-calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/mainly-about-friends.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/caen-and-home.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/heading-for-home.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/done-roma-ing.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/tour-de-france.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/back-to-europe.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/across-france-to-jura.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/wedding-invitation.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/1066-to-1944.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-bibliotheque-alexis-de-tocqueville.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caen. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/06/drive-me-to-moon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Cap de la Hague. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Carentan. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/1066-to-1944.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Carrouges. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Carteret. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/cotentin-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Carteret. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/cotentin.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Caudebec. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/returning-home.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Cerisy-la-Forêt. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/done-roma-ing.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Cherbourg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/au-revoir-normandie.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Clécy. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy-and-franche-comte.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Colleville-sur-Mer. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/d-day.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Conches-en-Ouche. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Cotentin. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Courseilles-sur-Mer (Juno Beach). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/au-revoir-normandie.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Courseuilles. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/caen-and-home.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Courseuilles-Graye. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/mainly-about-friends.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Coutances. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/cotentin-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Creully. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/1066-to-1944.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. D-Day Beaches. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/d-day.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Deauville. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Dieppe. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Domfront. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Eu. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/belgian-coast-and-northern-france.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Falaise. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Falaise. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seeking-sun.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Fontaine-Henry. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/returning-home.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Gacé. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/la-dame-aux-camelias.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Gatteville. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Grandcamp-Maisy. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/back-to-normandy.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Grandcamp-Maisy. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/tapisseries-and-patisseries.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Grandcamp-Maisy. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/done-roma-ing.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Granville. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/cotentin-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Hauteville-la-Guichard. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/cotentin-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Honfleur. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/beauvais-rouen-honfleur.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Honfleur. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/roma-therapy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Joburg. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. La Cambe. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/d-day.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. L'Aigle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/la-dame-aux-camelias.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Le Havre <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Lessay. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/cotentin-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Lion-sur-Mer. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Longues. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/done-roma-ing.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Luc-sur-Mer. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Lyons-la-Forêt. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/beauvais-rouen-honfleur.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Mont-St.-Michel. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/cotentin-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Montsurvent. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/france-using-byways.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Mortain. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/cotentin-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Muneville-le-Bingard. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/france-using-byways.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Normandy. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Omanville-la-Petite. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Omanville-la-Rogue. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Orne. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy-and-franche-comte.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Ouistreham. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/homeward-bound.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Pointe du Hoc. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/d-day.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Pont de Bretonne. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/returning-home.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Pont L'Evêque. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/mainly-about-friends.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Pontécoulant. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Pontorson. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/cotentin-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Pontorson. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/dinard-and-mont-st-michel.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Port-en-Bessin. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Port-Vieux. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/returning-home.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Quiberville. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/once-more-unto-breach.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Rabodanges. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/la-dame-aux-camelias.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Regnéville. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Rosel. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/1066-to-1944.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Rouen. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/beauvais-rouen-honfleur.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Ryes. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/caen-and-home.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Saint-Aubin. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/tour-de-france.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Saint-Germain-le-Gaillard. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Saint-Lô. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/au-revoir-normandie.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Saint-Martin. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/1066-to-1944.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Saint-Nicolas-de-Bliquetuit. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/returning-home.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Saint-Vaaste-la-Hogue. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/cotentin.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Saint-Valéry-en-Caux. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/belgian-coast-and-northern-france.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Salenelles. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/normandy-and-home.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Sées. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy-and-franche-comte.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. St Pierre-sur-Dives. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/caen-again.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. St. Valery en Caux. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/normandy-and-home.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. St.-Aubin-sur-Mer. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/normandy-and-home.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. St.-Evroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/la-dame-aux-camelias.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Suisse Normande. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy-and-franche-comte.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Thaon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/april-in-paris.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Trouville. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/normandy.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Valognes. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/cotentin.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Varengueville-sur-Mer. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/somme.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Vauville. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/caen-and-cotentin.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Verneuil-sur-Avre. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/03/jura-and-normandy.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Veules-les-Roses. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/normandy-and-home.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Villedieu-les-Poêles. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/08/cotentin.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Villers-Canivet. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seeking-sun.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Normandie. Vire. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/au-revoir-normandie.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Fontainebleau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/fontainbleau-and-milly-la-fort.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Grez-sur-Loing. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/fontainbleau-and-milly-la-fort.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Milly-la-Forêt. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/fontainbleau-and-milly-la-fort.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Nemours. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/fontainbleau-and-milly-la-fort.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/encore-paris.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/manifestly-paris.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/mayenne-and-calvados.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/paris.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/paris-in-snow.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/april-in-paris.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile de France. Vincennes. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/april-in-paris.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile-de-France <a NAME="France. Paris et Ile-de-France"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile-de-France. Dourdan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile-de-France. Milly-la-Forêt. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile-de-France. Paris. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/paris-in-snow.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Paris et Ile-de-France. Provins. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Picardie <a NAME="Picardie"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Abbeville. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/once-more-unto-breach.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Ambleny. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/somme.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Amiens. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/somme.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Beauvais. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/beauvais-rouen-honfleur.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Berck-sur-Mer. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/belgian-coast-and-northern-france.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Bourdon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/somme.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Cap Blanc Nez. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/belgian-coast-and-northern-france.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Cap Gris Nez. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/belgian-coast-and-northern-france.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Cayeux-sur-Mer. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/once-more-unto-breach.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Crécy. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/once-more-unto-breach.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Crouy-St.-Pierre. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/somme.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Laon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hunsruck-and-ardenne.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Noyon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/somme.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/belgian-coast-and-northern-france.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> France. Picardie. Somme. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/somme.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Picardie. St.Valery-sur-Somme. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/somme.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente <a NAME="Poitou Charente"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Blaye. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seeking-some-sunshine.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Bourg-sur-Dordogne. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seeking-some-sunshine.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Châtellerault. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/roma-therapy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Cognac. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/bordeaux-and-les-landes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Fouras. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/bordeaux-and-les-landes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Ile de Ré. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/ile-de-re.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Ile d'Oléron. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seeking-some-sunshine.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Ile-de-Ré. Fouras. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/ile-de-re-and-vendee_20.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Ile-de-Ré. La Flotte. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/ile-de-re-and-vendee_20.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Ile-de-Ré. Portes-en-Ré. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/ile-de-re-and-vendee_20.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Ile-de-Ré. Saint-Martin-de-Ré. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/10/ile-de-re-and-vendee_20.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. la Palmyre. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/ile-de-re.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. La Rochelle. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/bordeaux-and-les-landes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Marennes. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/ile-de-re.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Mornac-sur-Seudre. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seeking-some-sunshine.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Pointe d'Arcay. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seeking-some-sunshine.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Poitiers. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/potiers-and-perigueux.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Rochefort. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/ile-de-re.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Rochefort. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/bordeaux-and-les-landes.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Royan. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/ile-de-re.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Royan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seeking-some-sunshine.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Saint-Trojan-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seeking-some-sunshine.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Poitou Charente. Talmont-sur-Gironde. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seeking-some-sunshine.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> FRANCE. PROVENCE <a NAME="Provence"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Aix-en-Provence. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/from-auvergne-into-provence.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Allauch. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/marcel-pagnol-country-and-cote-dazur.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Antibes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/menton-not-taking-it-on-chin.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Arles. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/happy-new-ear-from-van-gogh-and-us.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Arles. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/happy-new-ear-from-van-gogh-and-us.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Avignon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/farewell-to-2005-in-avignon.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Avignon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/farewell-to-2005-in-avignon.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Avignon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/nimes-and-avignon.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Avignon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/nimes-and-avignon.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Beaucaire. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/happy-new-ear-from-van-gogh-and-us.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Camargue. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/around-camargue.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Cannes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/marcel-pagnol-country-and-cote-dazur.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Cote d'Azur. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/marcel-pagnol-country-and-cote-dazur.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Digne-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seeking-sun.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. La Treille. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/marcel-pagnol-country-and-cote-dazur.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Le Tholonet. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/from-auvergne-into-provence.html"> 2006</A><br />
<!C> France. Provence. Le Tholonet. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/from-auvergne-into-provence.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Luberon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/from-auvergne-into-provence.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Menton. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/menton-not-taking-it-on-chin.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Oraison. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/arrival-in-corsica.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Orange. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/from-auvergne-into-provence.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Pont du Gard. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/happy-new-ear-from-van-gogh-and-us.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Saintes Maries de la Mer. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/around-camargue.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Sisteron. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seeking-sun.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. St Tropez. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/marcel-pagnol-country-and-cote-dazur.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. St. Maxime. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/marcel-pagnol-country-and-cote-dazur.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Tarascon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/happy-new-ear-from-van-gogh-and-us.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Vallauris. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/menton-not-taking-it-on-chin.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Provence. Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/farewell-to-2005-in-avignon.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes <a NAME="Rhône-Alpes"></A> <br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Aix-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/turin-around-italy.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Aix-les-Bains. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seeking-sun.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Annecy. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Brou. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Chambéry. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seeking-sun.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Col de Bayard. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seeking-sun.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Echallon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Gorges de Fier. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Gorges de l’Ain. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Gorges de l'Ardèche. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Hauterives. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/ambre-les-espagnolettes.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Isérand. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/ambre-solaire.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. La Mure. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seeking-sun.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Lyon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/lyon.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Montelimar. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/from-auvergne-into-provence.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Oyonnax. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Perouges. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Pérouges. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Trévoux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/paper-and-print.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Trévoux. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/paper-and-print.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Vienne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> France. Rhône-Alpes. Vizille. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seeking-sun.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> GERMANY <a NAME="Germany"></A> is divided into Länder: <br />
<!C> GERMANY. BADEN-WURTTEMBERG <a NAME="Germany. Baden-Wurttemberg"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Bad Krozingen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/alsace-and-vosges.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Bad Wimpfen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/heidelberg-and-buchsal.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Beuron. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-black-forest-and-source-of-danube.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Black Forest. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/black-forest.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Bodensee. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/bodensee.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Bodensee. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/lake-konstanz.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Bodensee. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/lake-constance-and-ravensburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Bodensee. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/lake-constance-and-ravensburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Breg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-black-forest-and-source-of-danube.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Breisach. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Bruchsal. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/heidelberg-and-buchsal.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Creglingen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/rothenburg-and-detwang.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Danube. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-black-forest-and-source-of-danube.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Donaueschingen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-black-forest-and-source-of-danube.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Engen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/lake-constance-and-ravensburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Freiburg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/black-forest.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Friedrichshafen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/lake-konstanz.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Heidelberg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/heidelberg-and-buchsal.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Horb am Neckar. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/from-bad-to-wurst.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Horb. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/baden-wurttemberg.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Kaiserstuhl. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Kehl. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/heidelberg-and-buchsal.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Konstanz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/bodensee.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Konstanz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/lake-konstanz.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Lindau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/bodensee.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Neckar River. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/baden-wurttemberg.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Neckargmünd. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/heidelberg-and-buchsal.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Ravensburg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/lake-constance-and-ravensburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Rohrschach. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/bodensee.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Rottenburg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/baden-wurttemberg.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Sankt Peter. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Sankt Trudpert (Munstertal). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/alsace-and-vosges.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Schluchsee. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/black-forest.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Sigmaringen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-black-forest-and-source-of-danube.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Stockau. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/shingles.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Tauber-Bischofsheim. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/rothenburg-and-detwang.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Tiengen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/switzerland.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Titisee. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/black-forest.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Titisee. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-black-forest-and-source-of-danube.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Titisee. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/lake-constance-and-ravensburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Todtnau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-black-forest-and-source-of-danube.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Tübingen <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/baden-wurttemberg.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Tubingen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> GERMANY. BAYERN <a NAME="Germany. Bayern"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Abensberg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/reach-for-stars.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Andechs. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/hans-knees-and-bumps-daisy.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Augsburg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Augsburg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Aying. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Bad Tölz. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bad-tolz-and-munich.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Bamberg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Bärnau. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/this-year-in-marienbad.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Bayreuth. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Berchtesgaden. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/berchtesgaden-and-knigssee.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Biburg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/reach-for-stars.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Bielngries. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Deggendorf. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Detwang. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/rothenburg-and-detwang.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Donaudurchbruch. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/shingles.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Donauwörth. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/from-bad-to-wurst.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Freising. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/reach-for-stars.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Furth im Wald. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/furth-im-wald-and-encounter-with.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Herrsching. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/hans-knees-and-bumps-daisy.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Ingolstadt <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Ingolstadt. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/rohrbach-landshut-and-ingolstadt.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Ingolstadt. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/reach-for-stars.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Ingolstadt. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/from-bad-to-wurst.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Kelheim. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/shingles.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Kinding. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/from-bad-to-wurst.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Kochelsee. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/murnau-and-kochelsee.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Königssee. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/berchtesgaden-and-knigssee.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Kulmbach. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/thuringia-and-weimar.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Landshut. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/rohrbach-landshut-and-ingolstadt.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Landshut. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/into-Bayern .html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Lauingen. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/from-bad-to-wurst.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Leipheim. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Manching. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/from-bad-to-wurst.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Munich. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Munich. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/hans-knees-and-bumps-daisy.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Munich. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Munich. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/with-friends-in-munich.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Munich. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bad-tolz-and-munich.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Munich. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/shingles.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Munich. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Murnau. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/murnau-and-kochelsee.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Neuburg/Donau <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/from-bad-to-wurst.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Neuschwanstein. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Nördlingen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Nördlingen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Oberammergau. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Ottobeuren. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/murnau-and-kochelsee.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Passau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/into-Bayern .html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Pfaffenhofen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/reach-for-stars.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Pottenstein. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Regensberg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Rohrbach. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Rohrbach. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/rohrbach-landshut-and-ingolstadt.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Rohrbach. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/reach-for-stars.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Rohrbach. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/shingles.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Rohrbach. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/from-bad-to-wurst.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Rothenburg ob der Tauber. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/rothenburg-and-detwang.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Rothenburg ob der Tauber. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/rothenburg-and-detwang.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Rothenburg ob der Tauber. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/rothenburg-and-detwang.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Schönsee. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/this-year-in-marienbad.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Solnhofen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Sonnefeld. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/from-bad-to-wurst.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Stadtsteinach. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/thuringia-and-weimar.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Taubenstein. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/hans-knees-and-bumps-daisy.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Urschalling. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/hans-knees-and-bumps-daisy.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Walchensee. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/murnau-and-kochelsee.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Wasserberg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/hans-knees-and-bumps-daisy.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Weltenberg, Kloster. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/shingles.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Bayern. Wolnzach. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/rohrbach-landshut-and-ingolstadt.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> GERMANY. BERLIN AND BRANDENBURG <a NAME="Germany. Berlin and Brandenburg"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Berlin and Brandenburg. Berlin. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/from-prussia-with-love.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Berlin and Brandenburg. Lübben. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/from-prussia-with-love.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Berlin and Brandenburg. Potsdam. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/from-prussia-with-love.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> GERMANY. BREMEN <a NAME="Germany. Bremen"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Bremen. Bremen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/hamburg-and-bremen.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> GERMANY. HAMBURG <a NAME="Germany. Hamburg"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Hamburg. Hamburg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/hamburg-and-bremen.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> GERMANY. HESSEN <a NAME="Germany. Hessen"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Hessen. Alsfeld. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/picturesque-german-towns.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Hessen. Bad Hersfeld. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/picturesque-german-towns.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Hessen. Bad Homburg. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/fulda-and-frankfurt.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Hessen. Frankfurt am Main. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/fulda-and-frankfurt.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Hessen. Fulda. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/fulda-and-frankfurt.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Hessen. Lautertal. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Hessen. Limburg an der Lahn. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/down-lahn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Hessen. Lorch. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/rhine-and-moselle.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Hessen. Marburg an der Lahn. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/down-lahn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Hessen. Wetzlar. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/down-lahn.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> GERMANY. MECKLENBERG-VORPOMMERN <a NAME="Germany. Mecklenberg"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Barth. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/stralsund-and-rostock.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Greifswald. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-poland-to-germany.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Jasmund National Park. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/stralsund-and-rostock.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Kap Arkona. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-poland-to-germany.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Kühlungsborn. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/kuhlungsborn-and-wismar.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Mechelsdorf. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/kuhlungsborn-and-wismar.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Pruchten. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/stralsund-and-rostock.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/stralsund-and-rostock.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rügen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-poland-to-germany.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Schwerin. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/schwerin-travemunde-fehmarn-and-plon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Stralsund. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/stralsund-and-rostock.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Vitt. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-poland-to-germany.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Wismar. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/kuhlungsborn-and-wismar.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Zinnowitz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-poland-to-germany.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> GERMANY. NIEDERSACHSEN <a NAME="Germany. Niedersachsen"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Bramsche. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Celle. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celle-and-lubeck.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Celle. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/weimar-goslar-and-celle.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Clausthal-Zellerfeld. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/weimar-goslar-and-celle.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Ebergötzen. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/goslar-and-gottingen.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Goslar. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/goslar-and-gottingen.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Goslar. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/weimar-goslar-and-celle.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Göttingen. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/goslar-and-gottingen.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Hannover. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/hannover.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Lauenburg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celle-and-lubeck.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Mölln. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celle-and-lubeck.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Okertal. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/goslar-and-gottingen.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Salzgitter Bad. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/goslar-and-gottingen.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Seeburger See. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/goslar-and-gottingen.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Niedersachsen. Wernigerode. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/goslar-and-gottingen.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. NORDRHEIN-WESTFALEN <a NAME="Germany. Nordrhein-Westfalen"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Nordrhein-Westfalen. Cologne. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Nordrhein-Westfalen. Osnabrück. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/hannover.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> GERMANY. RHEINLAND-PFALZ <a NAME="Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Burg Eltz. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/rhine-and-moselle.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Cochem. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/rhine-and-moselle.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Hermeskeil. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hunsruck-and-ardenne.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Hunsrück. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/rhine-and-moselle.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Hunsrück. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hunsruck-and-ardenne.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Idar-Oberstein. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Kastellaun. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hunsruck-and-ardenne.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Koblenz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/nassau-to-koblenz.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Lahneck. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/nassau-to-koblenz.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Lahnstein. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/nassau-to-koblenz.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Lorelei. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/rhine-and-moselle.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Mosel River. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/rhine-and-moselle.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Moselkern. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hunsruck-and-ardenne.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Nassau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/nassau-to-koblenz.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Nennig. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/luxembourg.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Rhine River. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/rhine-and-moselle.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Saarburg. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/rhine-and-moselle.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Saarburg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hunsruck-and-ardenne.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Saarburg. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Sankt Goar. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/rhine-and-moselle.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Simmern. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hunsruck-and-ardenne.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Trier. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/rhine-and-moselle.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Trier. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/trier-luxembourg-and-northern-france.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Worms. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> GERMANY. SACHSEN <a NAME="Germany. Sachsen"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Bautzen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/thuringia.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Dresden. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/meissen-and-dresden.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Freiberg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/meissen-and-dresden.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Görlitz. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/oi-bin-to-oybin.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Königstein. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/saxon-alps-and-oberlausitz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Lausche. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/saxon-alps-and-oberlausitz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Meissen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/meissen-and-dresden.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Moritzburg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/saxon-alps-and-oberlausitz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Niesky. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/oi-bin-to-oybin.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Oberlausitz. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/saxon-alps-and-oberlausitz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Oybin. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/oi-bin-to-oybin.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Saxon Alps. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/saxon-alps-and-oberlausitz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Seifhennersdorf. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/saxon-alps-and-oberlausitz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Waltersdorf. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/saxon-alps-and-oberlausitz.html"> 2006</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Waltersdorf. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/saxon-alps-and-oberlausitz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Zittau. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/oi-bin-to-oybin.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Sachsen. Zwickau. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/down-but-not-out-in-germany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> GERMANY. SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN <a NAME="Germany. Schleswig-Holstein"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Basedow. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/weimar-goslar-and-celle.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Buchholz. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schleswig-and-around.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Burg auf Fehmarn. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/schwerin-travemunde-fehmarn-and-plon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Büsum. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/schleswig-holstein-and-lubeck.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Dagebüll. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-friesland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Dagebüll. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/koogs-and-halligen.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Dagebüll. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Eidersperrwerk. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/into-holland.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. England. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/husum.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Eutin. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schleswig-and-around.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Fehmarnsund. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/schwerin-travemunde-fehmarn-and-plon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/sylt-and-flensburg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-friesland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Friedrichstadt. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/schleswig-holstein-and-lubeck.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Glückstadt. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/into-holland.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Haithabu. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schleswig-and-around.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Heiligenhafen. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/schwerin-travemunde-fehmarn-and-plon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Holm. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schleswig-and-around.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Husum. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-friesland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Husum. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/husum.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Husum. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Langeness. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Leck. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Lübeck. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/schleswig-holstein-and-lubeck.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Lübeck. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celle-and-lubeck.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Meldorf. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/into-holland.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Neugalmsbüll. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Niebüll. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-friesland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Niebüll. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/sylt-and-flensburg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Niebüll. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/koogs-and-halligen.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Niebüll. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Nordstrand. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/husum.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. North Friesland. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/north-friesland.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Oland. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/koogs-and-halligen.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Plön. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schleswig-and-around.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Plön. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/schwerin-travemunde-fehmarn-and-plon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Pronstorf. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schleswig-and-around.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Ratzeburg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/schleswig-holstein-and-lubeck.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Römnitz. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/schleswig-holstein-and-lubeck.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Sankt Peter Ording Dorf. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/into-holland.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Sankt Peter Ording. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/schleswig-holstein-and-lubeck.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Schleswig Holstein. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/schleswig-holstein-and-lubeck.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Schleswig. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schleswig-and-around.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Schleswig. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Schobüll. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/koogs-and-halligen.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Schobüll. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Seebüll. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/sylt-and-flensburg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Sylt. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/sylt-and-flensburg.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Travemünde. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/schwerin-travemunde-fehmarn-and-plon.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Tremsbüttel. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/schleswig-holstein-and-lubeck.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Wyk auf Föhr. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/to-danish-border.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> GERMANY. THURINGEN <a NAME="Germany. Thuringen"></A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Apolda. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/down-but-not-out-in-germany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Bad Berka. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/thuringia.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Bad Frankenhausen. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/goslar-and-gottingen.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Eisenach. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/picturesque-german-towns.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Erfurt. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/thuringia-and-weimar.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Gera. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/down-but-not-out-in-germany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Gotha. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/picturesque-german-towns.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Heichelheim. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/thuringia.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Ilmenau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/thuringia-and-weimar.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Jena. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Pforta. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/thuringia-and-weimar.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Stolberg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Tiefurt. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/down-but-not-out-in-germany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Wartburg Castle. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/picturesque-german-towns.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/down-but-not-out-in-germany.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/thuringia-and-weimar.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/thuringia.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thüringen. Gotha. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/weimar-goslar-and-celle.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Germany. Thüringen. Weimar. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/07/weimar-goslar-and-celle.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> GIBRALTAR <a NAME="Gibraltar"></A> <br />
<!C> Gibraltar. Gibraltar Straits. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/dire-straits.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Gibraltar. Gibraltar. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/gibraltar-and-trafalgar.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Gibraltar. Gibraltar. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/hasta-la-vista-espagna.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> GREAT BRITAIN <a NAME="#Great Britain"></A> (see <a HREF="#Wales">Wales</A>) <br />
<!C> GREECE <a NAME="Greece"></A> is divided into provinces: <br />
<!C> GREECE. ATTICA <a NAME="Greece. Attica"></A> <br />
<!C> Greece. Attica. Athens. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/athens.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> GREECE. CORFU <a NAME="Greece. Corfu"></A> <br />
<!C> Greece. Corfu. Achillion. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/corfu.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Corfu. Barbati. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/corfu.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Corfu. Kalami. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/corfu.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Corfu. Kerkyra. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/corfu.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Corfu. Lefkimmi. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/corfu.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Corfu. Palaeokastritsi. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/corfu.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> GREECE. EPIROS <a NAME="Greece. Epiros"></A> <br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Bizani. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/time-to-leave-greece.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Dodoni. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/time-to-leave-greece.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Igoumenitsa. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/time-to-leave-greece.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Ioannina. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/ioannina.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Ioannina. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/igoumenitsa-to-meteora.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Metsovo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/time-to-leave-greece.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Monodendri. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/igoumenitsa-to-meteora.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Nisi. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/ioannina.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Perama Caves. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/igoumenitsa-to-meteora.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Vikos Gorge. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/igoumenitsa-to-meteora.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Vitsa. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/igoumenitsa-to-meteora.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Epiros. Zagoria. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/igoumenitsa-to-meteora.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> GREECE. MACEDONIA <a NAME="Greece. Macedonia"></A> <br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Chalkidiki. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/chalkidiki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Kavala. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/kavala-and-philippi.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Mount Athos. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/chalkidiki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Mount Olympus. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/mount-olympus-and-thessaloniki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Neos Marmaras. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/chalkidiki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Olynthos. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/chalkidiki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Phillipi. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/kavala-and-philippi.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Sarti. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/chalkidiki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Sithonia. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/chalkidiki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Stagira. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/chalkidiki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Thessaloniki. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/mount-olympus-and-thessaloniki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Macedonia. Toroni. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/chalkidiki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> GREECE. PELOPONNESE <a NAME="Greece. Peloponnese"></A> <br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Acrocorinthos. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/corinth.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Arcadia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/et-in-arcadia-modestine.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Corinth. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/corinth.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Diakofto. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/delphi.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Egio. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/delphi.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Elonis. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/sparta-and-mystras.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Epidavros. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/epidavros-and-mycenae.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Hora. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/et-in-arcadia-modestine.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Leonidio,. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/sparta-and-mystras.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Mycenae. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/epidavros-and-mycenae.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Mystras. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/sparta-and-mystras.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Nafplio. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/epidavros-and-mycenae.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Navarino Bay. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/et-in-arcadia-modestine.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Nemea. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/corinth.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Nestor's Palace. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/et-in-arcadia-modestine.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Olympia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/modestines-olympic-marathon.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Palairos. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/corinth.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Paleokastro. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/et-in-arcadia-modestine.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Patras. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/modestines-olympic-marathon.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Pylos. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/et-in-arcadia-modestine.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Pyrgos. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/modestines-olympic-marathon.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Sparta. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/sparta-and-mystras.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Tiryns. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/epidavros-and-mycenae.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Peloponnese. Vassos. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/et-in-arcadia-modestine.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> GREECE. STEREA ELLADA <a NAME="Greece. Sterea Ellada"></A> <br />
<!C> Greece. Sterea Ellada. Delphi. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/delphi.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Sterea Ellada. Lefkada. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/along-ionian-coast.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Sterea Ellada. Loukas. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/delphi.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Sterea Ellada. Messolongi. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/along-ionian-coast.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Sterea Ellada. Mitikas. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/along-ionian-coast.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Sterea Ellada. Nafplaktos. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/along-ionian-coast.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Sterea Ellada. Osios. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/delphi.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Sterea Ellada. Vasiliki. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/along-ionian-coast.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> GREECE. THESSALY <a NAME="Greece. Thessaly"></A> <br />
<!C> Greece. Thessaly. Kalambaka</a>. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/meteora.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Thessaly. Meteora. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/meteora.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Thessaly. Meteora. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/mount-olympus-and-thessaloniki.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Thessaly. Trikala. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/meteora.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> GREECE. THRACE. Alexandroupoli. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/alexandroupoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Thrace. Evros Delta. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/alexandroupoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Thrace. Makri. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/alexandroupoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Thrace. Traianoupolis. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/alexandroupoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Greece. Thrace. Xanthi. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/alexandroupoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> GUATEMALA <a NAME="Guatemala"></A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Aguateca. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/guatemala-to-mexico.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Antigua. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/introduction-antigua-and-copan.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Ceibal. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/guatemala-to-mexico.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Flores. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/tikal-yaxha-and-flores.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Guatemala City. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/introduction-antigua-and-copan.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Quirigua. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/quirigua.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Quirigua. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/tikal-yaxha-and-flores.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Rio de la Pasion. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/guatemala-to-mexico.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Rio Dulce. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/tikal-yaxha-and-flores.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Rio Usumacinta. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/guatemala-to-mexico.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Santa Elena. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/tikal-yaxha-and-flores.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Sayaxche. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/guatemala-to-mexico.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Tikal early travellers. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/early-tikal-travellers.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Tikal site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/tikal.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Tikal. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/tikal-yaxha-and-flores.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Yaxha site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/yaxha.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Guatemala. Yaxha. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/tikal-yaxha-and-flores.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Herefordshire. Hereford. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Herefordshire. Ledbury. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> HONDURAS <a NAME="Honduras"></A> <br />
<!C> Honduras. Copan site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/copan.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Honduras. Copan. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/introduction-antigua-and-copan.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> HUNGARY <a NAME="Hungary"></A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Badacsony. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/balaton-and-budapest.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Baja. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/szeged-and-mohacs.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Bakonygyirót. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/with-friends-in-gyr-and-gymre.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Balatonfüred. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/balaton-and-budapest.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/szentendre-and-budapest.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/szentendre-and-budapest.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/balaton-and-budapest.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-3.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-4.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-10.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-11.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-7.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-7.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Budapest. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-9.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Buk. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/hungary-for-more.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Debrecen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/on-to-debrecen.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Debrecen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/with-friends-in-hungary.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Eger. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/tokaj-eger-visegrad-and-esztergom.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Eger. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/with-friends-in-hungary.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Esterházy. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/around-lake-fert-and-sopron.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Esztergom. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/tokaj-eger-visegrad-and-esztergom.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Esztergom. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Fertöd. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/around-lake-fert-and-sopron.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Gödöllö. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Gyömöre. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/with-friends-in-gyr-and-gymre.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Gyömöre. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/in-north-west-hungary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Gyömöre. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/crossing-europe.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Gyor <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/hungary-for-more.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Györ. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/with-friends-in-gyr-and-gymre.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Györ. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/crossing-europe.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Hajduszoboszlo. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/with-friends-in-hungary.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Harkány. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/pecs-and-around.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Hegykö. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/around-lake-fert-and-sopron.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Hegymagas. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/balaton-and-budapest.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Heviz. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/keszthely-and-lake-balaton.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Héviz. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/in-north-west-hungary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Héviz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/lake-balaton-to-austrian-border.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Hortobágy region. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/on-to-debrecen.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Hortobagy. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/horsemen-of-puszta.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Kaposvár. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/szigetvar-and-kaposvar.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Keszthely. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/keszthely-and-lake-balaton.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Keszthely. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/balaton-and-budapest.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Keszthely. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/in-north-west-hungary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Keszthely. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/lake-balaton-to-austrian-border.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Kiskunfélegyháza. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/on-to-debrecen.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Kormend. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/hungary-for-more.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Köszeg. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/in-north-west-hungary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Köszeg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/lake-balaton-to-austrian-border.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Lake Balaton. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/keszthely-and-lake-balaton.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Lake Balaton. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/balaton-and-budapest.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Lake Fertö. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/around-lake-fert-and-sopron.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Martonvásár. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Mohács. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/on-to-debrecen.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Mohács. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/szeged-and-mohacs.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Nagycenk. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/around-lake-fert-and-sopron.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Nagynarad. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/on-to-debrecen.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Papa. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/hungary-for-more.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Pápa. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/with-friends-in-gyr-and-gymre.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Pécs. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/pecs-and-library-friends.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Pécs. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/from-croatia-into-hungary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Pécs. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/pecs-and-around.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Pomáz. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Sarvar. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/hungary-for-more.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Siklós. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/pecs-and-around.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Sopron. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/around-lake-fert-and-sopron.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Sopron. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/lake-balaton-to-austrian-border.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Sümeg. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/keszthely-and-lake-balaton.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Szeged. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/szeged-and-mohacs.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Székesfehérvár. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Székesféhervár. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/balaton-and-budapest.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Szekszárd. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/from-croatia-into-hungary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Szentendre. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/szentendre-and-budapest.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Szentendre. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-3.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Szigetvár. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/szigetvar-and-kaposvar.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Szombathely. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/in-north-west-hungary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Szombathely. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/lake-balaton-to-austrian-border.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Szombathely. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/hungary-for-more.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Tét. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/with-friends-in-gyr-and-gymre.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Tihany. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/from-croatia-into-hungary.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Tokaj. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/tokaj-eger-visegrad-and-esztergom.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Veszprém. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/balaton-and-budapest.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Hungary. Villány. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/pecs-and-around.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Villánykövesd. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/pecs-and-around.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Visegrad. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/tokaj-eger-visegrad-and-esztergom.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Hungary. Visegrád. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> IRELAND <a NAME="Ireland"></A> <br />
<!C> IRELAND. EIRE <a NAME="Ireland. Eire"></A> <br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Achill. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. An Spideal. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Armagh. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/enniskillen-and-armagh.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Ballyronan. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/belfast.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Ballyshannon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/donegal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Bantry Bay. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/from-cork-to-kerry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Beara Peninsula. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/from-cork-to-kerry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Bere Haven. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/from-cork-to-kerry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Birr. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/wicklow-mountains-to-birr.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Blarney. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/cashel-and-cork.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Bunglass cliffs. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/donegal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Bunmahon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Burren. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Bushmills. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/giant-steps-for-mankind.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Cahir. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Carlingford. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/eire-on-shoe-string.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Carnlough. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/giant-steps-for-mankind.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Carrik-a-Rede. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/giant-steps-for-mankind.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Cashel. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/cashel-and-cork.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Castletownbere. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/from-cork-to-kerry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Clifden. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Clogher Head. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Connemara. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Connor Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Cork county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Cork. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/cashel-and-cork.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Curracloe Strand. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Dingle Peninsula. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Dingle. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Donegal county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/donegal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Doo Lough Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Dublin. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/dublin.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Dundalk. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/eire-on-shoe-string.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Dunganstown. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/begorrah.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Dungarvan. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Dunlavin. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/wicklow-mountains-to-birr.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Dursey. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/from-cork-to-kerry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Enniscorthy. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Ferns. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Galbally. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/cashel-and-cork.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Glenglesh Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/donegal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Gougane Barra. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/from-cork-to-kerry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Healy Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/from-cork-to-kerry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Kells. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/eire-on-shoe-string.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Kenmare. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/from-cork-to-kerry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Kerry county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/from-cork-to-kerry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Kildare. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/wicklow-mountains-to-birr.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Kilfenora. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Kilkenny. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/begorrah.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Killarney. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/from-cork-to-kerry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Killary Harbour. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Killybegs. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/donegal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Kilmore Quay. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/begorrah.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Kilrush. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Knock. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Knowth. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/eire-on-shoe-string.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Kylemore Abbey. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Leamaneh castle. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Letterkenny. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/donegal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Lisdoonvarna. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Lismore. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Louth county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/eire-on-shoe-string.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Malin. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/donegal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Mayo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Meath county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/eire-on-shoe-string.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Moville. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/donegal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Murrisk. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. National Museum of Country Life. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Newmills. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/donegal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Offaly county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/wicklow-mountains-to-birr.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Powerscourt. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/wicklow-mountains-to-birr.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Roscrea. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/wicklow-mountains-to-birr.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Roundstone. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Slieve League. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/donegal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Sligo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. St. Brendon's cove. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/dingle-to-connemara.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. St. Patrick's mountain. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Stradbally. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Tipperary county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/wicklow-mountains-to-birr.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Tipperary. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/cashel-and-cork.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Waterford county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Westport Quay. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/mayo-to-sligo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Wexford county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Wexford Nature Reserve. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Wexford. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/begorrah.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Wexford. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Wicklow county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/wicklow-mountains-to-birr.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Eire. Youghall. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/south-east-ireland.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> IRELAND. NORTHERN IRELAND <a NAME="Ireland. Northern Ireland"></A> <br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Belfast. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/belfast.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Coleraine. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/londonderry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Cookstown. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/omagh.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. County Antrim. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/londonderry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Cushendall. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/giant-steps-for-mankind.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Devenish Island. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/enniskillen-and-armagh.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Dungannon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/enniskillen-and-armagh.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Dunluce Castle. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/giant-steps-for-mankind.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Enniskillen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/enniskillen-and-armagh.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Fermanagh county. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/omagh.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Giant's causeway. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/giant-steps-for-mankind.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Londonderry. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/londonderry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Lough Erne. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/enniskillen-and-armagh.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Newry. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/eire-on-shoe-string.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Omagh. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/omagh.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Portrush. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/londonderry.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Torr Head. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/giant-steps-for-mankind.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Ulster American Folk museum. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/omagh.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Ireland. Northern Ireland. Warrenpoint. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/eire-on-shoe-string.html"> 2009</A><br />
ISLE OF MAN <a NAME="Isle of Man"></A><!C> Isle of Man. Ballasalla. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-south.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Bride. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-north_7.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Calf of Man. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-south.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Castletown. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-south.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Douglas. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-douglas.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Douglas. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-integrated-transport.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Laxey. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-integrated-transport.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Laxey. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-north_7.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Peel. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-north_7.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Point of Ayre. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-north_7.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Port Erin. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-integrated-transport.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Port Saint Mary. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-south.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Ramsey. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-north_7.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Saint Johns. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-south.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> Isle of Man. Sneafell. <a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2019/11/isle-of-man-integrated-transport.html"> 2019</A><br />
<!C> ITALY <a NAME="Italy"> Sardinia is separately listed. </A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Ancona. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/from-italy-to-greece.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Apennines. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Aquilea. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Arezzo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Assisi. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/assisi-experience.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Bardolino. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/lake-garda-and-brenta.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Bardolino. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/mantova-and-lake-garda.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Bassano del Grappa. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/veneto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Baveno. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Baveno. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Baveno. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italian-lakes.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Belluno. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/ciao-and-gruss-gott.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Bologna. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/turin-around-italy.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Brescia. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-iseo-and-brescia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Brixen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/tyrol.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Burano. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Cantarana. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/turin-around-italy.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Castelfranco Veneto. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/veneto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Castiglione del Lago. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/around-lake-trasimeno.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Certaldo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/arrival-in-tuscany.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Chioggia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/veneto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Chiusi. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/around-lake-trasimeno.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Cingoli. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/from-italy-to-greece.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Cislano. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-iseo-and-brescia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Colle de Valle d'Elsa. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/arrival-in-tuscany.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Comacchio. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Comacchio. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/veneto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Cortina. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/ciao-and-gruss-gott.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Cortona. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/around-lake-trasimeno.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Cremona. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Diano Marina. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Duino. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Fabriano. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/from-italy-to-greece.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Faenza. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Feltre. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/ciao-and-gruss-gott.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Fiesole. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/fiesole-and-florence.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Florence. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/fiesole-and-florence.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Garda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/lake-garda-and-brenta.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Gemona del Friuli. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Gradara. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/pesaro-and-san-marino.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Gubbio. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/gubbio-and-urbino.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Iseo. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-iseo-and-brescia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Iseo. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italian-lakes.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Isola Bella. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Isola Bella. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italian-lakes.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Isola de Pescatore. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Isola Madre. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Laghi de Lamar <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italy-into-austria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Laghi di Fusine. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Laghi di Lamar. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/lake-garda-and-brenta.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lago di Garda. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/mantova-and-lake-garda.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lago Iseo. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italian-lakes.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lago Lugano. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italian-lakes.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lago Maggiore. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italian-lakes.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lake Garda. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-iseo-and-brescia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lake Iseo. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-iseo-and-brescia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lake Maggiore. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lake Maggiore. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lake Trasimeno. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/assisi-experience.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lake Trasimeno. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/around-lake-trasimeno.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Lavende <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italian-lakes.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lazice. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/lake-garda-and-brenta.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lido. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Loreto. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/from-italy-to-greece.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Lucca. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Mantova. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/mantova-and-lake-garda.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Mantua. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Milan. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Montagnana. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Monte Isola. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italian-lakes.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Murano. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Neumarkt. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italy-into-austria.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Padua. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Pallanza. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italian-lakes.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Pallanza. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Parma. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/turin-around-italy.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Passignano. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/assisi-experience.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Pavia. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Perugia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/assisi-experience.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Pesaro. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/pesaro-and-san-marino.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Peschiera. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-iseo-and-brescia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Peschiera. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Peschiera. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italia-and-verona.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Pisa. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Ravenna. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Ravenna. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/rimini-and-ravenna.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Rimini. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/rimini-and-ravenna.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Riva del Garda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/lake-garda-and-brenta.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. San Gimignano. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/arrival-in-tuscany.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. San Vigilio Point. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/lake-garda-and-brenta.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Siena. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sirolo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/from-italy-to-greece.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Sovicille. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Spello. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/assisi-experience.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Torcello. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Torri del Benaco. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/lake-garda-and-brenta.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Trento. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/tyrol.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Trieste. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Tuscany. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/arrival-in-tuscany.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Tyrol. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/tyrol.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Urbino. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/gubbio-and-urbino.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Veneto. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/veneto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Venice. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Venice. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Venice. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/lake-garda-and-brenta.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Venice. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/veneto.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Venice. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Verona. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italia-and-verona.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Verona. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Italy. Vicenza. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> ITALY. SARDINIA <a NAME="Italy. Sardinia"></A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Alghero. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/alghero-and-sassari.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Arbatax. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/south-east-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Arborea. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/cagliari.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Arzachena. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/northern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Berchidda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/northern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Bosa. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/alghero-and-sassari.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Cagliari. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/cagliari.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Cala Gonone. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/in-mountains-of-eastern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Carbonia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/south-east-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Cornus. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/alghero-and-sassari.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Costa Smeralda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/northern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Cuglieri. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/alghero-and-sassari.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Domus de Janus (San Vito). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/south-east-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Gennargentu National Park. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/in-mountains-of-eastern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Iglesias. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/south-east-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Jerzu. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/south-east-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Marceddi. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/cagliari.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Muravera. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/south-east-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Nora. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/south-east-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Nostra Signora di Castro. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/northern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Nuoro. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/in-mountains-of-eastern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Nuraghe Mannu. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/in-mountains-of-eastern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Nuraghi Domubecci. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/cagliari.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Olbia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/in-mountains-of-eastern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Orgosolo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/in-mountains-of-eastern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Oristano. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/tharros-and-oristano.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Porto Cervo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/northern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Pula. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/south-east-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. San Giusta. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/tharros-and-oristano.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Santa Teresa Gallura. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/northern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Sant'Antioco di Bisarcio. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/northern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Santissima Trinità di Saccargia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/northern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Sassari. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/alghero-and-sassari.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Tavolara. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/northern-sardinia.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Tharros. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/tharros-and-oristano.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Italy. Sardinia. Torre Grande. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/tharros-and-oristano.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> LATVIA <a NAME="Latvia"></A> <br />
<!C> Latvia. Cesis. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/into-latvia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Latvia. Karosta. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/coastal-latvia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Latvia. Krimulda Palace. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/into-latvia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Latvia. Kuldiga. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/coastal-latvia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Latvia. Liepaja. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/coastal-latvia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Latvia. Liepaja. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-lati-to-litu.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Latvia. Pavilosta. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/coastal-latvia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Latvia. Riga. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/riga.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Latvia. Sigulda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/into-latvia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Latvia. Turaida. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/into-latvia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Latvia. Ventspils. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/coastal-latvia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> LIECHTENSTEIN <a NAME="Liechtenstein"></A> <br />
<!C> Liechtenstein. Vaduz. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> LITHUANIA <a NAME="Lithuania"></A> <br />
<!C> Lithuania. Kryzu Kalnas (Hill of Crosses). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-lati-to-litu.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Lithuania. Palanga. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-lati-to-litu.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Lithuania. Sedula. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-lati-to-litu.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Lithuania. Siauliai. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-lati-to-litu.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Lithuania. Siluva. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/vilnius-and-around.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Lithuania. Trakai. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/vilnius-and-around.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Lithuania. Vilnius. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/vilnius-and-around.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> LUXEMBOURG <a NAME="Luxembourg"></A> <br />
<!C> Luxembourg. Diekirch. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/luxembourg.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Luxembourg. Echternach. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/trier-luxembourg-and-northern-france.html"> 2014</A><br />
<!C> Luxembourg. Luxembourg. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/luxembourg.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> MACEDONIA <a NAME="Macedonia"></A> <br />
<!C> Macedonia. Zvegor. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/moving-on-at-last.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> MEXICO <a NAME="Mexico"></A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Bonampak site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/bonampak.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Bonampak. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/guatemala-to-mexico.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Campeche. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/campeche-to-uxmal.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Champoton. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/campeche-to-uxmal.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Chichen Itza site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/chichen-itza.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Chichen Itza. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/chichen-itza-coba-and-tulum.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Coba site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/coba.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Coba. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/chichen-itza-coba-and-tulum.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Edzna site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/edzna.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Edzna. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/campeche-to-uxmal.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Kabah site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/kabah.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Kabah. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/campeche-to-uxmal.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Labna site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/labna.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Labna. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/campeche-to-uxmal.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Maya Riviera. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/chichen-itza-coba-and-tulum.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Mayapan site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/mayapan.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Mayapan. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/uxmal-and-merida.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Merida. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/uxmal-and-merida.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Palenque site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/palenque.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Palenque. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/guatemala-to-mexico.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Piste. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/uxmal-and-merida.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Sayil site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/sayil.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Sayil. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/campeche-to-uxmal.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Seibal site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/seibal.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Tulum Ruinas. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/chichen-itza-coba-and-tulum.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Tulum site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/tulum.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Tulum Town. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/chichen-itza-coba-and-tulum.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Uxmal site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/uxmal.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Uxmal. <a HREF="https://wallowinginthemaya.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/uxmal-and-merida.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Yaxchilan site. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/yaxchilan.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> Mexico. Yucatan, Catherwood. <a HREF="https://mayamiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/catherwood-in-yucatan.html"> 2008</A> <br />
<!C> MONACO <a NAME="Monaco"></A> <br />
<!C> Monaco. Monte Carlo. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/menton-not-taking-it-on-chin.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> MOROCCO <a NAME="Morocco"></A> <br />
<!C> Morocco. Assilah. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/high-barbary.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Azrou. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/moulay-idriss-and-meknes.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Bhalil. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/moulay-idriss-and-meknes.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Ceuta, Spain. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/dire-straits.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Ceuta, Spain. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/high-barbary.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Chefchaouen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/chefchaouen.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Dayet Aoua. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/moulay-idriss-and-meknes.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Fez. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/fez.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Gharb. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/high-barbary.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Ifrane. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/moulay-idriss-and-meknes.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Ito. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/moulay-idriss-and-meknes.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Jebel Musa. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/high-barbary.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Martil. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/high-barbary.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Meknes. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/moulay-idriss-and-meknes.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Moulay Bousselham. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/high-barbary.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Moulay Idriss. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/moulay-idriss-and-meknes.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Rabat. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/ribat-to-rabat.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Ribat-el-Kheir. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/ribat-el-kheir.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Ribat-el-Kheir. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/ribat-to-rabat.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Rif Coast. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/dire-straits.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Rif Mountains. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/dire-straits.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Rif Mountains. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/volubilis.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Sefrou. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/moulay-idriss-and-meknes.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Sefrou. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/ribat-el-kheir.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Tetouan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/dire-straits.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Tetouan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/high-barbary.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Morocco. Volubilis. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/volubilis.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> NETHERLANDS <a NAME="Netherlands"></A> <br />
<!C> Netherlands. Alkmaar. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/northern-holland.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Alkmaar. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/alkmaar-and-gouda.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Amsterdam. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/amsterdam.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Bergen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/amsterdam.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Den Haag. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/haarlem-leiden-and-hague.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Dokkum. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/groningen-and-dokkum.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Gouda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/let-op-drempels.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Gouda. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/alkmaar-and-gouda.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Groningen. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/groningen-and-dokkum.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Haarlem. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/haarlem-leiden-and-hague.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Hoge Veluwe National Park. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/kroller-mueller-gallery.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Ijsselmeer (Afsluitdijk). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/northern-holland.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Ijsselmeer. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/into-holland.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Katwijk aan Zee. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/haarlem-leiden-and-hague.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Kröller-Müller Museum. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/kroller-mueller-gallery.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Leiden. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/haarlem-leiden-and-hague.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Makkum. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/northern-holland.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Middelburg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/let-op-drempels.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Schoorl. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/northern-holland.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Sneek. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/northern-holland.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Sneek. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/into-holland.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Veere. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/let-op-drempels.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Woerden. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/let-op-drempels.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Netherlands. Zevenhuizen. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/08/alkmaar-and-gouda.html"> 2018</A><br />
<!C> Norfolk. Downham Market. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/kings-lynn-and-ely.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> NORWAY <a NAME="Norway"></A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Bergen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/bergen-and-islands.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Bergen. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/09/end-of-journey.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Egersund. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/kristiansand-to-stavanger.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Farsund. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/kristiansand-to-stavanger.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Ferry to Newcastle. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/09/end-of-journey.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Flekkefjord. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/kristiansand-to-stavanger.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Haugesund. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/haugesund-to-bergen.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Haugesund. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/stavanger-to-haugesund.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Haugesund. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/no-way-to-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Norway. Haukelifjell. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/across-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Norway. Heddal. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/across-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Norway. Holsnøy. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/bergen-and-islands.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Hundvin. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/bergen-and-islands.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Kinsarvik. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/haugesund-to-bergen.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Kongsberg. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/across-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Norway. Kristiansand. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/kristiansand-to-stavanger.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Lofthus. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/haugesund-to-bergen.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Mandal. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/kristiansand-to-stavanger.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Nærbo. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/stavanger-to-haugesund.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Odda. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/haugesund-to-bergen.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Oslo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/oslo.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Norway. Røldal. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/across-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Norway. Sævrøy. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/bergen-and-islands.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Sandnes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/stavanger-to-haugesund.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Sauda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/across-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Norway. Saudafjord. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/no-way-to-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Norway. Seljord. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/across-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Norway. Seljordsvatnet. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/across-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Norway. Sørfjorden. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/haugesund-to-bergen.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Stavanger. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/stavanger-to-haugesund.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Norway. Stavanger. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/no-way-to-norway.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> POLAND <a NAME="Poland"></A> <br />
<!C> Poland. Auschwitz. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/auschwitz-and-wroclaw.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Czestochowa. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/auschwitz-and-wroclaw.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Frombork. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/rural-poland.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Gdansk. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/gdansk.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Goldap. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/rural-poland.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Kamien Pomorski. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-poland-to-germany.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Krakow. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/slovakia-to-krakow.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Niechorze. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/from-poland-to-germany.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Nowa Huta. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/slovakia-to-krakow.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Sopot. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/rural-poland.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Wegorzewo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/rural-poland.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Wroclaw. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/auschwitz-and-wroclaw.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Poland. Zgorzelec. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/oi-bin-to-oybin.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> PORTUGAL <a NAME="Portugal"></A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Braga. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/pilgims-progress-braga-and-fatima.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Cabo da Roca. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/tomar-to-edge-of-europe.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Caminha. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/all-way-to-santiago.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Caminha. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/adios-espana-ola-portugal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Caminha. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/portugal.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Cape St Vincent. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/ends-of-world.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Cascais. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/cascais-and-sintra.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Coimbra. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/evora-and-coimbra.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Elvas. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/extremadura.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Evora. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/ends-of-world.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Evora. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/evora-and-coimbra.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Extremadura. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/extremadura.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Fatima. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/pilgims-progress-braga-and-fatima.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Lagos. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/ends-of-world.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Lisbon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/lisbon.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Mafra. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/extremadura.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Minho River. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/portugal.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Monchique. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/ends-of-world.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Olhão. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/wild-west-and-beyond.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Porto. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/porto.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Sagres. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/ends-of-world.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Sintra. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/cascais-and-sintra.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Tavira. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/wild-west-and-beyond.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Tomar. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/tomar-to-edge-of-europe.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Torres Vedras. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/tomar-to-edge-of-europe.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Valenca do Minho. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/back-into-spain.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Valenca do Minho. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/portugal.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Valença. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/adios-espana-ola-portugal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Viana do Castelo. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/all-way-to-santiago.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Viana do Castelo. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/portugal.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Viano do Castelo. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/evora-and-coimbra.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Portugal. Vila de Mouros. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/pilgims-progress-braga-and-fatima.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Vila Nova de Cerveira. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/adios-espana-ola-portugal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Portugal. Vila Praia de Ancora. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/portugal.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> ROMANIA <a NAME="Romania"></A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Alba Iulia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-4.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Aurel Vlaicu. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-4.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Barsana Monastery. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/humor-monastery-to-merry-cemetery.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Bistritsa Valley. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/humor-monastery-to-merry-cemetery.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Bistritsa Valley. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/return-to-romania.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Bogdan Voda. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/humor-monastery-to-merry-cemetery.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Bran. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-3.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Brasov. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-3.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Bucharest. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/bucharest.html"> 2013</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Bunesti. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-2.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Câmpulung Moldovenesc. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/humor-monastery-to-merry-cemetery.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Cartâ. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-3.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Cluj Napoca. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/welcome-to-romania.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Constanta. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/constanta-and-black-sea.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Corund. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-2.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Danube delta. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/constanta-and-black-sea.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Fundu Moldovei. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/return-to-romania.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Gura Humorului. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/humor-monastery-to-merry-cemetery.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Harman. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-2.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Huedin. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/welcome-to-romania.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Humor Monastery. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/humor-monastery-to-merry-cemetery.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Hunedoara. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-5.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Iacobeni. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/return-to-romania.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Ieud. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/humor-monastery-to-merry-cemetery.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Mamaia. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/constanta-and-black-sea.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Moldovitsa Monastery. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/return-to-romania.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Oradea. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/welcome-to-romania.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Pascanu Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/return-to-romania.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Prislop Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/humor-monastery-to-merry-cemetery.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Sâncraiu. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/welcome-to-romania.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Sapanta. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/humor-monastery-to-merry-cemetery.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Saschiz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-2.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Sibiu. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-4.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Sighisoara. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-2.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Sinaia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-3.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Sovata. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-1.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Targoviste. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/return-to-romania.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Targu Mures. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-1.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Timisoara. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-5.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Tulcea. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/constanta-and-black-sea.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Romania. Turda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/transylvania-1.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Romania. Voronets. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/humor-monastery-to-merry-cemetery.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> RUSSIA <a NAME="Russia"></A> <br />
<!C> Russia. Russian border. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/south-east-estonia.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> SAN MARINO <a NAME="San Marino"></A> <br />
<!C> San Marino. San Marino. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/pesaro-and-san-marino.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> SCOTLAND <a NAME="Scotland"></A> <br />
<!C> Scotland. Abbotsford. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/scotland-rosslyn-and-abbotsford.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Aberdeen. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-aberdeen.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Beecraigs Country Park. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-dunfirmline.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Ben Nevis. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/scotland-inverness.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Carnoustie. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-dundee.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Castle of Mey. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-castle-mey.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Crail. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-east-neuk.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Crinan. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/introducing-scotland-gretna-dumbarton.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Cromarty. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/scotland-cromarty-wick-and-john-ogroats.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Culloden. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-route-500.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Cupar. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-east-neuk.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Dingwall. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-route-500.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Dounreay. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-castle-mey.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Duncansby Head. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/scotland-cromarty-wick-and-john-ogroats.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Dundee. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-dundee.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Dunfermline. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-dunfirmline.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Durness. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-route-500.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. East Neuk. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-east-neuk.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Edinburgh. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-glasgow-and-edinburgh_29.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Elgin. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-nairn-lossiemouth-and-elgin_12.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Eskdale. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-1.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Scotland. Forfar. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-st-andrews.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Forres. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-nairn-lossiemouth-and-elgin_12.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Fort Augustus. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/scotland-inverness.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Fort William. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/scotland-inverness.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Glasgow. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-glasgow-and-edinburgh_29.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Glencoe. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/scotland-oban-and-glencoe.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Gretna Green. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/introducing-scotland-gretna-dumbarton.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Gretna. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-1.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Scotland. Inveraray. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/introducing-scotland-gretna-dumbarton.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Inverness. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/scotland-inverness.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. John O'Groats. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/scotland-cromarty-wick-and-john-ogroats.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Kilmartin. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/introducing-scotland-gretna-dumbarton.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Kirkwall. Orkneys. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/orkney.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Lamb Holm. Orkneys. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/orkney.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Linlithgow. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-linlithgow.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Lochgilphead. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/introducing-scotland-gretna-dumbarton.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Lossiemouth. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-nairn-lossiemouth-and-elgin_12.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Montrose. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-dundee.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Nairn. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-nairn-lossiemouth-and-elgin_12.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Oban. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/scotland-oban-and-glencoe.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Orkneys. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/orkney.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Pittenweem. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-east-neuk.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Rosslyn. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/12/scotland-rosslyn-and-abbotsford.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Saint Andrews <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-st-andrews.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Skaill. Orkneys. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/orkney.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Skara Brae. Orkneys. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/orkney.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Stenness. Orkneys. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/orkney.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Strathpeffer. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-route-500.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Stromness. Orkneys. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/orkney.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Ullapool. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/11/scotland-route-500.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> Scotland. Westerkirk. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-1.html"> 2012</A><br />
<!C> Scotland. Wick. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/10/scotland-cromarty-wick-and-john-ogroats.html"> 2018</A><br />
<br />
<!C> SLOVAKIA <a NAME="Slovakia"></A> <br />
<!C> Slovakia. Bratislava. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/bratislava.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Slovakia. Dobšiná. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/slovakia-to-krakow.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Slovakia. Modra. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/bratislava.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Slovakia. Poprad. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/slovakia-to-krakow.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Slovakia. Senica. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/bratislava.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> SLOVENIA <a NAME="Slovenia"></A> <br />
<!C> Slovenia. Lipica. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Slovenia. Podkoren. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Slovenia. Postojna. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Slovenia. Predjama. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN <a NAME="Spain"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Spanish Pyrenees. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN. ANDALUCIA <a NAME="Spain. Andalucia"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Alajate. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/ronda.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Alcala de los Gazules. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/hasta-la-vista-espagna.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Algeciras. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/dire-straits.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Baelo Claudia. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/gibraltar-and-trafalgar.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Cabo de Trafalgar. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/gibraltar-and-trafalgar.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Cadiz. <a HREF="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/cadiz-2005.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Cadiz. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/return-to-cadiz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Chiclana de la Frontera. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/return-to-cadiz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Cordoba. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/cordoba.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. El Campello. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/malaga-to-perpignan.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. El Rocio. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/wild-west-and-beyond.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Gaucin. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/ronda.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Granada (Alhambra). <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/granada-and-alhambra.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Granada. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/malaga-to-perpignan.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Jimena de la Frontera. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/ronda.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. La Línea. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/gibraltar-and-trafalgar.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Malaga. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/malaga-to-perpignan.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Marbella. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/ronda-welcome-in-hillside.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Parque Natural de los Alcornocales. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/gibraltar-and-trafalgar.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Puerto de Santa Maria. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/return-to-cadiz.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Puerto de Santa Maria. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/wild-west-and-beyond.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Ronda. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/ronda-welcome-in-hillside.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Ronda. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/ronda.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Roquetas de Mar. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/ronda-welcome-in-hillside.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. San Roque. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/hasta-la-vista-espagna.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Santa Elena. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/la-mancha.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Tarifa. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/gibraltar-and-trafalgar.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Tarifa. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/hasta-la-vista-espagna.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Torremolinos. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/ronda-welcome-in-hillside.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Vejer de la Frontera. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/hasta-la-vista-espagna.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Zahara de los Atunes. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/hasta-la-vista-espagna.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Almerimar. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/home-and-dry.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Andalucia. Almerimar. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/home-and-dry.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> SPAIN. ARAGON <a NAME="Spain. Aragon"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Aragon. Broto. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Aragon. Congosto de Ventamillo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN. ASTURIAS <a NAME="Spain. Asturias"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Arenas de Cabrales. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Arenas de Cabrales. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/picos-de-europa.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Asturias. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/asturias-and-santiago.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Bulnes. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Busto. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/back-into-spain.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Cain Gorge. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Cain Gorge. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/picos-de-europa.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Candas. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/peek-at-picos.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Candas. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/asturias-and-santiago.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Candas. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/asturias.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Cangas de Onis. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Cangas de Onis. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/peek-at-picos.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Cangas de Onis. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/picos-de-europa.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Cangas de Onis. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/asturias-revisited.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Covadonga. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Covadonga. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/picos-de-europa.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Cudillero. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/asturias-revisited.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Gijon <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/asturias.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Gijon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/peek-at-picos.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Llanes. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/through-france-to-northern-spain.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Oviedo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/asturias-and-santiago.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Oviedo. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/asturias.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Panes. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/picos-de-europa.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Picos de Europa. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Picos de Europa. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/peek-at-picos.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Picos de Europa. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/picos-de-europa.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Picos de Europa. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/asturias-revisited.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Poncebos. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Poncebos. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/asturias-revisited.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Puerto de Vega. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/all-way-to-santiago.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Sotres. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Asturias. Villanueva. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/asturias-revisited.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN. CANTABRIA <a NAME="Spain. Cantabria"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Barcena Mayor. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Comillas. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Comillas. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/cantabria-to-gascony.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Comillas. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/through-france-to-northern-spain.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Comillas. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/cantabria.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Desfiladero de la Hermida. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/cantabria.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Ebro Reservoir. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Fuente De. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Lebeña. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/cantabria.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Liébana. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/cantabria.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Nuestra Señora de Lebeña. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/peek-at-picos.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Ontaneda. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Pechon. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Pechon. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/through-france-to-northern-spain.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Potes. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Potes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/peek-at-picos.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Potes. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/cantabria.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Puente Viesgo Caves. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. San Toribio de Liebaña. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. San Toribio de Liebaña. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/peek-at-picos.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. San Vicente de la Barquera. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/peek-at-picos.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. San Vicente de la Barquera. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/cantabria.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Santander. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Santander. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/04/semana-santander.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Santillana del Mar. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Santillana del Mar. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/cantabria-to-gascony.html"> 2006</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Santillana del Mar. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/03/cantabria-to-gascony.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Santillana del Mar. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/cantabria.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Santillana-del-Mar. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/through-france-to-northern-spain.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Tino Mayor. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Cantabria. Villacarriedo. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN. CASTILLA Y LEON <a NAME="Spain. Castilla y Leon"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla y León. Aguilar de Campóo. <a HREF="https://spain1995.blogspot.com"> 1995</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla y León. Avila. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/segovia-and-avila.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla y León. Burgos. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/burgos.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla y León. Castrojeriz. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/burgos.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla y León. Navahonda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/toledo-and-escorial.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla y León. Riaza. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/la-mancha.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla y León. Salamanca. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/salamanca.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla y León. Segovia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/segovia-and-avila.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN. CASTILLA-LA MANCHA <a NAME="Spain. Castilla la Mancha"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla-La Mancha. Sierra de Toledo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/guadalupe-and-trujillo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla–La Mancha. La Mancha. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/la-mancha.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Castilla–La Mancha. Toledo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/toledo-and-escorial.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN. CATALUNYA <a NAME="Spain. Catalunya"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Barcelona. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/girona-and-barcelona.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Barcelona. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/barcelona-and-brits-abroad.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Bergueda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/andorra-and-llivia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Blanes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/girona-and-barcelona.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Blanes. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/home-and-dry.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Blanes. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/barcelona-and-brits-abroad.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Boí. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Cadaques. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/viva-espaa.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Cap de Creus. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/Roussillon.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Erill la Vall. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Estartit. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/girona-and-barcelona.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Estartit. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/viva-espaa.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Figueres. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/viva-espaa.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Garrotxa. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/volcanoes-and-greeks-abroad.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Girona. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/girona-and-barcelona.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Llivia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/andorra-and-llivia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Lloret de Mar. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/barcelona-and-brits-abroad.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Port Lligat. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/Roussillon.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Ribera de Cardos. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Santa Pau. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/volcanoes-and-greeks-abroad.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Taüll. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Toroella de Montgri. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/girona-and-barcelona.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Tossa de Mar. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/barcelona-and-brits-abroad.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Vic. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/andorra-and-llivia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Catalunya. Volcà de Santa Margarida. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/volcanoes-and-greeks-abroad.html 2009</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN. EXTREMADURA <a NAME="Spain. Exteremadura"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Extremadura. Cáceres. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/extremadura.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Extremadura. Guadalupe. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/guadalupe-and-trujillo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Extremadura. Mérida. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/extremadura.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Extremadura. Trujillo. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/guadalupe-and-trujillo.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN. GALICIA <a NAME="Spain. Galicia"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Baiona. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/adios-espana-ola-portugal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Bamio. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/galicia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Barreiros. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/back-into-spain.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Barreiros. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/galicia.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Cabo Finisterre. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/all-way-to-santiago.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Cambados. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/galicia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Carnota. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/all-way-to-santiago.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Castro de Baroña. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/galicia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Combarro. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/galicia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Combarro. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/galicia.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Coruña. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/asturias-and-santiago.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Coruña. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/galicia.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Fisterra. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/galicia.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Fisterre. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/galicia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Galicia. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/galicia.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Galicia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/galicia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Guarda. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/portugal.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Guarda. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/adios-espana-ola-portugal.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Lugo. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/back-into-spain.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Mondoñedo. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/galicia.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Noia. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/galicia.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. O Grove. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/galicia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Ponte do Porto. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/galicia.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Pontevedra. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/galicia.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Portonovo. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/galicia.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Ribadeo. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/back-into-spain.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Santiago de Compostela. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/all-way-to-santiago.html"> 2006</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Santiago de Compostela. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/all-way-to-santiago.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Santiago de Compostelle. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/asturias-and-santiago.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Galicia. Tui. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/05/back-into-spain.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Madrid. Aranjuez. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/la-mancha.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Madrid. El Escorial. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/toledo-and-escorial.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Madrid. Madrid. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/madrid.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Madrid. Valle de los Caidos. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/segovia-and-avila.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Navarre. Estella. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Navarre. Etxarri. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Navarre. Ochagavia. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Navarre. Roncesvalles. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/spanish-pyrenees.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN. PAIS VASCO <a NAME="Spain. Pais Vasco"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Pais Vasco. Bilbao. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2017/06/bilbao.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Pais Vasco. Getaria. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/through-france-to-northern-spain.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Pais Vasco. La Peña. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/asturias-and-santiago.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Pais Vasco. San Sebastian. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/round-of-basque-villes.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> SPAIN. VALENCIA <a NAME="Spain. Valencia"></A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Valencia. Alicante. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/malaga-to-perpignan.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Valencia. Benidorm. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/malaga-to-perpignan.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Spain. Valencia. Cullera. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/01/home-and-dry.html"> 2006</A> <br />
<!C> Spain. Valencia. Cullera. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/malaga-to-perpignan.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> SRI LANKA <a NAME="https://sri Lanka"></A> <br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Aluthgama. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/aluthgama.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Aluthgama. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/bentota.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Aluthgama. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/walking-through-jungle.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Aluvihara. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/peradeniya-and-dambulla.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Anuradnapura. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/anuradhapura-and-mihintale.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Anuradnapura. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/polonnaruwa-and-ritigala.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Aukana. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/aukana-and-yapahuwa.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Bentota. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/aluthgama.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Bentota. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/arrival-in-columbo.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Bentota. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/bentota.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Bentota. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/poruwa-wedding.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Colombo. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/arrival-in-columbo.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Colombo. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/back-in-columbo.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Colombo. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/settling-in.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Dambulla. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/peradeniya-and-dambulla.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Devon tea plantation. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/devon-tea-plantation.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Ella. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/ratnapura-and-ella.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Galle. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/galle.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Galle. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/home-again.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Galle. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/wedding-guests-arrive.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Kandy. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/kandy.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Labookellie tea plantation. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/nurawa-eliya-and-ramboda.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Lake Mineriya. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/elephant-ride.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Matale. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/peradeniya-and-dambulla.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Mount Lavinia. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/arrival-in-columbo.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Mount Lavinia. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/wedding-guests-arrive.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Nalanda Gedige. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/peradeniya-and-dambulla.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Nurawa Eliya. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/nurawa-eliya-and-ramboda.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Panchkapaduwa. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/aluthgama.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Parakrama Samudra. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/elephant-ride.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Peradeniya. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/peradeniya-and-dambulla.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Pidurangala. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/elephant-ride.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Pinnewala. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/kandy.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Polonnaruwa. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/elephant-ride.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Polonnaruwa. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/polonnaruwa-and-ritigala.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Ramboda. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/nurawa-eliya-and-ramboda.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Ratmalana. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/arrival-in-columbo.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Ratmalana. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/back-in-columbo.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Ratmalana. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/devon-tea-plantation.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Ratmalana. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/settling-in.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Ratnapura. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/ratnapura-and-ella.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Ritigala. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/polonnaruwa-and-ritigala.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Sigiriya. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/elephant-ride.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Talawakele. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/devon-tea-plantation.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> Sri Lanka. Yapahuwa. <a HREF="https://srilanka2003.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/aukana-and-yapahuwa.html"> 2003</A><br />
<!C> SWEDEN <a NAME="Sweden"></A> <br />
<!C> Sweden. Arboga. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/sweden.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Sweden. Drottningholm. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/stockholm-part-2.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Sweden. Gamla Uppsala. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/uppsala.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Sweden. Karlstad. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/sweden.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Sweden. Märsta. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/uppsala.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Sweden. Stockholm (1). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/stockholm-part-1.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Sweden. Stockholm (2). <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/stockholm-part-2.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Sweden. Töcksfors. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/sweden.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Sweden. Uppsala. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/uppsala.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> Sweden. Västerås. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/sweden.html"> 2008</A><br />
<!C> SWITZERLAND <a NAME="Switzerland"></A> <br />
<!C> Switzerland. Agarn. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Bern. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/switzerland.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Switzerland. Brig. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/italian-lakes.html"> 2015</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Chamonix. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Chillon. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Fleurier. <a HREF="https://modestine3.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/buboes-on-our-butties.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Forclaz Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Furka Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Klausen Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Lake Geneva. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Lake Lucerne. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/switzerland.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Switzerland. Lausanne. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Lungerersee. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/switzerland.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Switzerland. Neuchâtel. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/switzerland.html"> 2010</A> <br />
<!C> Switzerland. Rhône Valley. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Saillon. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Salgesch. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Simplon Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Simplon Pass. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/by-land-and-sea-to-greece.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Switzerland. Vevey. <a HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> TRINIDAD <a NAME="Trinidad"></A> <br />
<!C> Trinidad. Arena Forest. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/32-fahrenheit-to-32-centigrade.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Arima. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/32-fahrenheit-to-32-centigrade.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Arima. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/oil-birds-and-oil-drums.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Arima. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Asa Wright Centre. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/32-fahrenheit-to-32-centigrade.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Asa Wright Centre. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/oil-birds-and-oil-drums.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Blanchisseuse. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/wednesday-14th-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Blanchisseuse. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Brasso Seco. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Brigand Hill. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Caroni. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Chaguaramas. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/fire-and-brimstone.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Couva. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/wednesday-14th-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Couva. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/fire-and-brimstone.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Cumana. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. La Brea (pitch lake). <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/fire-and-brimstone.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. La Vache Bay. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/wednesday-14th-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. La Vache. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Las Cuevas. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/wednesday-14th-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Las Cuevas. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Lopinot Valley. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/wednesday-14th-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Maracas Bay. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/wednesday-14th-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Matura Point. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Mayaro. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Port of Spain. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/oil-birds-and-oil-drums.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Port of Spain. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Salybia. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Simla Research Centre. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/32-fahrenheit-to-32-centigrade.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Simla. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. St Raphael. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/32-fahrenheit-to-32-centigrade.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. St. Augustine. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/oil-birds-and-oil-drums.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Toca. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/tuesday-20thth-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Tunapuna. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/wednesday-14th-february-2007-simla.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> Trinidad. Waterloo. <a HREF="https://maxtedtravelstrinidad.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/fire-and-brimstone.html"> 2007</A><br />
<!C> TURKEY <a NAME="Turkey"></A> <br />
<!C> Turkey. Abide, Gallipoli. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/gallipoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Anzac Cove. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/gallipoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Çanakkale. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/dardanelles-and-troy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Çanakkale. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/gallipoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Cape Helles, Gallipoli. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/gallipoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Çonkbayiri. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/gallipoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Eceabat. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/dardanelles-and-troy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Eceabat. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/dardanelles-and-troy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Edirne. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/edirne.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Gallipoli Peninsula. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/dardanelles-and-troy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Gelibolu. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/edirne.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Istanbul. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/istanbul-1.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Istanbul. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/istanbul-2.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Kabatepe, Gallipoli. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/gallipoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Kilitbahir, Gallipoli. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/gallipoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Kumbag. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/dardanelles-and-troy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Kuru Dagi hills. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/edirne.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Seddülbahir, Gallipoli. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/gallipoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Selimpasa. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/istanbul-1.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Suvla Bay, Gallipoli. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/gallipoli.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Tekir Dagi Park. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/dardanelles-and-troy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Troy. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/dardanelles-and-troy.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> Turkey. Uzunköprü. <a HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/edirne.html"> 2011</A><br />
<!C> UNITED KINGDOM <a NAME="#United Kingdom"></A> (see <a HREF="#England">England</A>, <a HREF="#Wales">Wales</A>, <a HREF="#Scotland">Scotland</A>, <a HREF="#Ireland">Ireland</A>) <br />
<!C> WALES <a NAME="https://wales"></A> <br />
<!C> Wales. Aberaeron. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Aberystwyth. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Brecon. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Bronillys. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Cardigan. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Cardigan. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Ceredigion. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Cowbridge. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Dre-Fach Felindre. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Elan reservoir. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Fishguard <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Fishguard. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Haverfordwest. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Haverfordwest. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Hay-on-Wye. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Lampeter. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Llandovery. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Llandridnod Wells. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Narberth. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Newcastle Emlyn. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Neyland. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Nottage. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Pembroke. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Pembrokeshire. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Porthcawl. <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Skomer. <a HREF="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/skomer.html"> 2005</A><br />
<!C> Wales. St. David. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. St. Dogmaels. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Strumble Head. <a HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bonus-blog-for-wales.html"> 2009</A><br />
<!C> Wales. Tenby <a HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2018/01/south-wales.html"> 2017</A><br />
<br />
<hr /><br />
This page last updated 25 November 2019<br />
Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-75732526538041996742023-08-26T15:17:00.007+01:002023-08-26T15:29:45.032+01:00The rain in Spain 2004. Downpour 3: Gibraltar and Malaga<p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><b>Saturday
4 December, </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><b>La
Línea de la Concepción</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><b>.</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Hostal Andalucia was not the most cheerful of places, run by
an elderly couple in Ronda who didn't exactly keep a welcome in the
hillside. Still, its proximity to the station meant we could make a
leisurely start to catch the 9:54 train from Granada to Algeciras in
the large station that boasts all of a dozen trains a day. Described
as an express, it trundled down the valley at a leisurely pace, which
gave us all the more opportunity to revel in the wonderful scenery
through which we passed. Starting off with a couple of sweeping
curves to lose height, it plunged into a series of deep ravines,
sometimes disappearing into tunnels to emerge with glimpses of the
river tumbling in white and azure torrents down the gorge far below
while the weathered bare rock of the distant hills rose up wreathed
in clouds. We descended from pines to olives, passing small towns
with acres of olive trees and vines. The sixty or so miles took an
hour and a half, and eventually the countryside flattened out and
more livestock was to be seen in the soggy fields. At 10:24 we
arrived at the station, somewhat misleadingly named San Roque </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">La
Línea</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
We had been assured by the tourist office in Ronda that buses for </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">La
Línea</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
met the train, but there was no sign at the bus shelter and, as in
Ronda, it was raining. The man in the ticket office made the sign
with his fingers of walking for one kilometre. Then what? An
indefinite wait without shelter by a dual carriageway being sprayed
by passing cars? We chickened out and paid 12 Euros for a taxi to the
bus station at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">La
Línea</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
where we were at last able to ascertain the times of the buses for
Málaga and find our way to the tourist office where we obtained a
map with locations of hostels. We ended up in a cheap but clean
hostel La Esteponera. Although the room at first seemed small, dark
and uninviting. once settled we discovered that </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">La
Línea</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on a Saturday was a bustling place. The hostel was near the covered
market Mercado</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">de
la Concepción,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
jammed with people buying fresh meat and vegetables, while clothes
stores spilled into the narrow streets around, still filled with
puddles after the recent rains. We made our way down to down the
broad Avenida 20 de Abril to the customs post, thankful we were not
part of the long queue of cars waiting to enter Gibraltar </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; text-align: right; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CbU3W5sAPgGJrmjbc_LKPpl0BlRTiwLyyrE7c390OTNKf2hTRK3NDyhiTusdjrw_ipgLtDlGyUZoqdfpA3wQn7R9RmUiobPlPXn4z1ArbLSWYE43yAHynzWBTb3PpTzNZig4tDeyc9pM0yhxY0PC8li_4LtDQFfXVA6-UpLEmNOPVPdPg4Z7/s1280/942-29-Gibraltar.JPG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CbU3W5sAPgGJrmjbc_LKPpl0BlRTiwLyyrE7c390OTNKf2hTRK3NDyhiTusdjrw_ipgLtDlGyUZoqdfpA3wQn7R9RmUiobPlPXn4z1ArbLSWYE43yAHynzWBTb3PpTzNZig4tDeyc9pM0yhxY0PC8li_4LtDQFfXVA6-UpLEmNOPVPdPg4Z7/s320/942-29-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; widows: 2;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span></span><span> </span><span> </span>View of Gibraltar from La Linea</i></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">Passports
were a mere formality and soon we were walking across the runway of
the airport, which stretches from Algeciras Bay (or the Bay of
Gibraltar) in the Atlantic across the isthmus to the Mediterranean.
There were little green men, just as if we were crossing a main road.
Immediately we were plunged into a British environment, yet not
quite. Spanish was still to be heard widely and the traffic drove on
the right, although the signs were in English. The massive military
installations reminded one of Plymouth yet above us loomed to the
remains of the Moorish castle part way up the massive 1500 feet high
limestone rock, one of the Pillars of Hercules. The way buildings
were packed in reminded one of the towns in the Channel Islands, but
the style was different, a mix of Spanish and English, with blocks of
apartments on the outskirts to cram in the 30,000 inhabitants of the
five by one kilometre stretch of land, most of it occupied by the
massive Rock. Tunnels took us through the casements, on which Barbary
apes played, in to a modern square lined with eating places, and with
a hoarding in lights commemorating the 300th anniversary of Gibraltar
falling to the British in 1704, Christmas decorations and a carillon
playing carols. Then on up Main Street, largely pedestrianized and
lined with shops that any moderate-sized town in England would boast:
Marks and Spencer, Early Learning Centre, Toys“R”Us, Barclays
Bank, but other buildings less commonly found, a Spanish looking
Roman Catholic cathedral, an Anglican Cathedral that looks like a
mosque, a mosque that looks like a Nissan hut, a government house, monuments to soldiers, canon guarding a former convent building
converted into an official residence.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">At the far end of Main Street was Trafalgar Cemetery where under palm trees sailors killed at the battle of Trafalgar were buried, as well as others who had died while serving in Gibraltar in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. </span></span></p><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPcZ36cvMvDBaRihFluenpVo-J7s3H4WSGgkRCo-dL9c7CQ6nDuHyt0if8si1z4T3R9cY6VrvDIVGv16_xRPmP6_AIGtSwC9_C4bhx8W-no4s4pnEAYG57z-XZtdKnmuRPkJQLzoUSYXWrbEI_g6PSBig734pRsWM1BXUFynd5W3CQ3d2egoz/s1280/942-30-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="1280" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPcZ36cvMvDBaRihFluenpVo-J7s3H4WSGgkRCo-dL9c7CQ6nDuHyt0if8si1z4T3R9cY6VrvDIVGv16_xRPmP6_AIGtSwC9_C4bhx8W-no4s4pnEAYG57z-XZtdKnmuRPkJQLzoUSYXWrbEI_g6PSBig734pRsWM1BXUFynd5W3CQ3d2egoz/s320/942-30-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Trafalgar Cemetery, Gibraltar</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpoeeUoO3xBi1fCGVB3rC1RwqqSYHui2R3tlm9hVuehzxmayKQpdo2CPeSb3NCWqefqDggcxlJWMhnrT0XZGbxfdcJO46CLWgoTOyG8vtlBZW-KBMi12MnJ1V9cmsTzvmWakVnGE7MXdI_GQau_gKriJ0F_1LzT3rkoMdTaWRsXLzd0HSCXSN/s1280/942-31-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpoeeUoO3xBi1fCGVB3rC1RwqqSYHui2R3tlm9hVuehzxmayKQpdo2CPeSb3NCWqefqDggcxlJWMhnrT0XZGbxfdcJO46CLWgoTOyG8vtlBZW-KBMi12MnJ1V9cmsTzvmWakVnGE7MXdI_GQau_gKriJ0F_1LzT3rkoMdTaWRsXLzd0HSCXSN/s320/942-31-Gibraltar.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Trafalgar Cemetery, Gibraltar</i></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLIDGyJs426WRxJgOd5mzrTEgwWyy32-Y35qrfxkhfV3-6_GdPxzwpjq58DpqnF8e-y5xMdl1cPRNvw2jhMmty1sd5mFAeYpC1IPBux5OQousaWAC8NqvYPjkVpyJanZTB9elZdTxe5YpinlPBHaK7zkmBzoOLfWZwDrkaCt0zH1gPT9km8mjD/s1280/942-32-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="823" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLIDGyJs426WRxJgOd5mzrTEgwWyy32-Y35qrfxkhfV3-6_GdPxzwpjq58DpqnF8e-y5xMdl1cPRNvw2jhMmty1sd5mFAeYpC1IPBux5OQousaWAC8NqvYPjkVpyJanZTB9elZdTxe5YpinlPBHaK7zkmBzoOLfWZwDrkaCt0zH1gPT9km8mjD/s320/942-32-Gibraltar.JPG" width="206" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Trafalgar Cemetery, Gibraltar</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLxfke8aKJ962Vcv4DZykpDIJ2k6TfIG8vNxv8yY59xtIAKsUDWaDIaZzYbBTA0tjnCoxSzZEDBfUgslknzvmig4-mRid5RpeLmyCbutMqS9PurxNGyky6dJXss96iCXApuuEZXikshR6k2NFv7jV0UDgkhztYKZ1CfQNAKwqHE46Adi1XEDg/s1280/942-33-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLxfke8aKJ962Vcv4DZykpDIJ2k6TfIG8vNxv8yY59xtIAKsUDWaDIaZzYbBTA0tjnCoxSzZEDBfUgslknzvmig4-mRid5RpeLmyCbutMqS9PurxNGyky6dJXss96iCXApuuEZXikshR6k2NFv7jV0UDgkhztYKZ1CfQNAKwqHE46Adi1XEDg/s320/942-33-Gibraltar.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Trafalgar Cemetery, Gibraltar</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We spent some time reading the inscriptions
then struck out along the west coast to Punta de Europa we soon came
to a battery open to visitors, strangely named Parson’s Lodge, and
noticed a small restaurant with check table cloths run by an English
couple. Anxious for a rest and something British after the
indifferent Spanish fare, we asked for two coffees and jacket
potatoes with a wonderful salad and baked beans. The coffees were
large and not too strong, the potatoes came with a salad garnish. The
British owners, suntanned and a little “alternative”, have been
on the Rock for 20 years. At first they had felt a little bit cut off
but now the frontier was open and, as he said, you could walk all the
way to Italy. Suitably refreshed, we continued our way leading
through a long tunnel one of some 50 miles of tunnels honeycombing
Gibraltar, and out onto two small beaches, then winding up to emerge at Europa Point by a modern mosque at a car park, empty in December, in front of the
only Trinity House lighthouse outside the UK. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrruWkFITMDoyw4ERF4wHX1ZSkG2HkRKKEpDD_KNDzZ9dGo6lVZVa5iJ7xjgzfa9w2dAA7Lpj1cWg6xvSEQgKS8NsDJ--xFjkeC6iD9c9V3qsChznrqmf9_LrLwzv-HxO7T-Vd3mSfjhLhtMfz4jtufKnfPVE_3qFBvU9u6oNjRxHsGRu_rTF/s1280/942-34-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrruWkFITMDoyw4ERF4wHX1ZSkG2HkRKKEpDD_KNDzZ9dGo6lVZVa5iJ7xjgzfa9w2dAA7Lpj1cWg6xvSEQgKS8NsDJ--xFjkeC6iD9c9V3qsChznrqmf9_LrLwzv-HxO7T-Vd3mSfjhLhtMfz4jtufKnfPVE_3qFBvU9u6oNjRxHsGRu_rTF/s320/942-34-Gibraltar.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Flowing water, Gibraltar</span></i></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMm3Q8HJi2mP4-mUBMCPNWu4Y6zaIaxXAfDuZgbme4lrHSKOAv-Tx3uAWTbB_F86PQpcuBdia_ByMBKPyVskl6Y4MnhvgoZvV-xQxbd_6egiIv38bDZggHvxO8_Ep755lnUezVK3rK9JA29iSi4mu6Syvjxtvwx8PV8zwKtj7Zlx-G4tg_Ypr/s1280/942-35-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="934" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMm3Q8HJi2mP4-mUBMCPNWu4Y6zaIaxXAfDuZgbme4lrHSKOAv-Tx3uAWTbB_F86PQpcuBdia_ByMBKPyVskl6Y4MnhvgoZvV-xQxbd_6egiIv38bDZggHvxO8_Ep755lnUezVK3rK9JA29iSi4mu6Syvjxtvwx8PV8zwKtj7Zlx-G4tg_Ypr/s320/942-35-Gibraltar.JPG" width="234" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Lighthouse, Europa Point</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10SCEv7wwUS8u_2Oxset1SRKqEaP4zh9xtMYOLt9tvXHp93wwAFZObNuBprQ3ffDerPqYCTtxTid6TAZ6NWwAIyWj1UKm6GBLlZ7nujk62VOnN4qRf28DIqrH27l2fIpQ_19AyUrqOYQbG5pVIpZKe8sI0xVIXwK8t850XzBEfb4ZQ2fXMPGT/s1280/942-36-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10SCEv7wwUS8u_2Oxset1SRKqEaP4zh9xtMYOLt9tvXHp93wwAFZObNuBprQ3ffDerPqYCTtxTid6TAZ6NWwAIyWj1UKm6GBLlZ7nujk62VOnN4qRf28DIqrH27l2fIpQ_19AyUrqOYQbG5pVIpZKe8sI0xVIXwK8t850XzBEfb4ZQ2fXMPGT/s320/942-36-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Lighthouse, Europa Point</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcf50dYSH0Fo_rlnYa8x4n0sXQSfsyQISZsbCOFV1J9_b90biMjtKfVEno7pjWym2TbiJ42NTN-I74Zv8H5Bm1Xkw_bHbpmvSMciBjnmvy3gBajbZBieMJx-A7DqzqX4SdKQ1GgCVSVpEuczqdtsWQHmJEXJRY2I3OlZAloYfUeM_jD_QRv_A1/s1280/943-00-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcf50dYSH0Fo_rlnYa8x4n0sXQSfsyQISZsbCOFV1J9_b90biMjtKfVEno7pjWym2TbiJ42NTN-I74Zv8H5Bm1Xkw_bHbpmvSMciBjnmvy3gBajbZBieMJx-A7DqzqX4SdKQ1GgCVSVpEuczqdtsWQHmJEXJRY2I3OlZAloYfUeM_jD_QRv_A1/s320/943-00-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Mosque, Europa Point</i></div><div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-align: justify;">In the distance across the Strait of Gibraltar we could see Africa. The table of orientation enabled us to identify Ceuta, the Spanish enclave, Jebel Musa (Mount Moses), the other Pillar of Hercules, a mere 15 miles away, less than the straits of Dover, while Tangier was hidden by the now dazzling sun, soon to set in a glorious redness, staining the clouds a salmon pink. It was an emotional experience to stand at the crossroads of so many things: the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Europe and Africa, Islam and Christianity, the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome to the east, and the promise of the New World to the west. It reminded us of Cape St Vincent in Portugal, the last land that the mariners saw when setting fourth to America or to India around the Cape of Good Hope and often the first land they saw when returning. Both are key points for human civilization.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLTIvXcytmZrTAZS04Ml5udpya7rMRCGUhaQpTq3GwKArwzxAAWcwdLepevjNmdERqvU0OHHAviJP-eZvGMJXH9Gip02qPgOskwhTPPPdLcR58EB1QPZBy5OkMpt7AOG9CytIjLaFwL5F0_AYQ2klY1jEjw2S191rScMMixrDEElftPhtTNqg/s1280/943-01-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLTIvXcytmZrTAZS04Ml5udpya7rMRCGUhaQpTq3GwKArwzxAAWcwdLepevjNmdERqvU0OHHAviJP-eZvGMJXH9Gip02qPgOskwhTPPPdLcR58EB1QPZBy5OkMpt7AOG9CytIjLaFwL5F0_AYQ2klY1jEjw2S191rScMMixrDEElftPhtTNqg/s320/943-01-Gibraltar.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Wild flowers at Europa Point</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">We
returned along the higher route, appropriately named Europa Road, at
great peril from boy racers who find this one of the only stretches
of road in Gibraltar to get up any speed. To our right the looming
wall of rock with aloes in bright orange bloom, on our left views
towards the mountains behind Algeciras, topped by gold-lined clouds
from the setting sun. We explored the Botanic Gardens, laid out on a
former exercise ground, a haven of peace on the crowded headland,
with dragon trees, palms, aloes, agaves and other, to us, exotic
plants. Then to the marina, filled with luxury yachts, fronted by
luxury apartments, and back along Main Street, now already closed
down at 6:00 p.m. to Casemate Square where we went into a fish and
chip restaurant, intent on cod and chips (they didn't serve rock on
the Rock) but, hearing Arabic spoken, plumped for their Moroccan
style chicken with onions, raisins and rice, a wise choice.</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Back
in Spain, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">La
Línea</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was as lively as Gibraltar was dead, humming with people walking the
streets families and children out looking at the blaze of Christmas
lights while struggling around the typically grotty Spanish
supermarkets for water, milk, canned beer and the few items on offer
that cannot be purchased in the daily markets where it seems most
fresh produce is acquired. They are fascinating places, full of
skinned rabbits, sheep's heads, whole scowling fishes and enormous
mountains of fresh vegetables. At this time of year the poinsettia
flower is king in Spain. The streets are scarlet with them in tubs,
hanging baskets, around the bases of pretty orange trees heavy with
ripening fruit. It looks so Christmassy and far prettier than our
glittering Christmas trees. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
purchased wine and some other emergency rations at a rather
down-at-heel supermarket, and the consumption of half a bottle of
Pined</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">è</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
made our room seem much more cosy, and at least it boasts a plug for
the sink, unlike most Spanish hostel rooms. At 24 Euros, it is less
than the 36 Euros we paid for an admittedly bigger and better room in
Ronda. We worked out that we have wandered around 12 to 13 miles
around the Rock. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">I
sat on the bed for a few moments before writing up my diary and fell
sound asleep. When I awoke some kindly fairy had written up the
events of a very unusual day for me — an excellent summary of a day
filled with so many different experiences, the stunning train ride
from Ronda, the walk across an airport runway to find ourselves back
in “Little Britain” and, as Ian said, it was a very peculiar,
magical experience to stand at the tip of the Straits of Gibraltar
and see so clearly the coast of a different continent just a few
miles away, each town along the coast so clear you could almost
distinguish individual buildings.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Sunday
5 December 2004, Hostal La Esteponera, </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>La
Línea</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>.</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Gibraltar
is a rock of white limestone 5 kilometres long, one kilometre wide
and half a kilometre high. We know this because we've walked every
inch of it over the last two days. We ran the gauntlet of the airport
runway again this morning. The town was deserted, with nobody on the
streets at 9:30 a.m. on a Sunday. At the cable car entrance we found
the gate locked and barred despite the notice we had read last night
saying it operated daily. Taxis were hovering and four-wheel drive
vehicles were offering to take visitors on a tour of the Rock and its
attractions. However as the cost was the same as the cable car and
far less fun we declined. We are used to everything closing in our
faces but we had come to see the Rock and see it we would. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So
we started climbing, and thus the day continued. We found a footpath
leading up from the top of the town and slowly made our way up
through rocks and scrub with cactuses and rock plants clinging to the
side of the rock wall. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Way above the marina, we stopped to look down onto the matchstick town. It felt so high but, looking up, we realised how far we still had to go. We didn't pass or see anyone at all the way up to the area of the Barbary apes that have such significance for the British here. So long as the apes are here Gibraltar will stay British, they claim. Given the number we have seen today, hanging from railings over sheer drops to the sea, grooming each other, scowling at visitors, feeding their tiny babies, ripping up car windscreen wipers and eating the rubber blades, or leaping through the tops of the juniper trees at the very top of the Rock, I guess Gibraltar, already part of the Empire since 1704, will remain so for the next 300 years as well.</span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7mlQSnt-deBDw4fVQ2AcvQwDbUxcc6Xo5rf63dwuhZKO45IdqBhxcRXZq1yR7qwwRnlwKUrG9ClVuyOjXydpMhVGMkZqI1OyliOMkbVZBPSZQEin3dfFZEz97HquOL5XZgZmEz498weauwsnifdis9JxKtAqNUj0DjqC2r3BkepomIUY9YQa/s1280/943-02-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7mlQSnt-deBDw4fVQ2AcvQwDbUxcc6Xo5rf63dwuhZKO45IdqBhxcRXZq1yR7qwwRnlwKUrG9ClVuyOjXydpMhVGMkZqI1OyliOMkbVZBPSZQEin3dfFZEz97HquOL5XZgZmEz498weauwsnifdis9JxKtAqNUj0DjqC2r3BkepomIUY9YQa/w240-h161/943-02-Gibraltar.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_za9SZ0HFDRWoMh85L3LprerZ5iLR4SbwGG0J3r6FMOwGZVs6cFdPt4CMizuJBs-FaFwmdB7zz-f8VztKfnyG3IvI14eKlUq-Rl3S9-LtP3FfW7CsLJvOVQ79B4qLb55vDhj56tVWcPq7CbXjTKESnzgiW31OEI5YE1IA6WE-LQScwUUFuT6v/s1280/943-03-Gibraltar.JPG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_za9SZ0HFDRWoMh85L3LprerZ5iLR4SbwGG0J3r6FMOwGZVs6cFdPt4CMizuJBs-FaFwmdB7zz-f8VztKfnyG3IvI14eKlUq-Rl3S9-LtP3FfW7CsLJvOVQ79B4qLb55vDhj56tVWcPq7CbXjTKESnzgiW31OEI5YE1IA6WE-LQScwUUFuT6v/w244-h162/943-03-Gibraltar.JPG" width="244" /></a></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiephRp9PWa7_GDcFvzRdjC5QNVeRR1IySIKf5CRstJL-OttA60eUE9df-uitadYGx0VotjNhF33mhHA-9L4wqJqzZBqhsb_mewiav6KwLZy7pAAkIfNs8w8mL290qldpxh-zpy92Ui1QCxU0JtJOC3oJCfG4uqYcpxqJTkwfF2NvTmBv18rVrR/s1280/943-04-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiephRp9PWa7_GDcFvzRdjC5QNVeRR1IySIKf5CRstJL-OttA60eUE9df-uitadYGx0VotjNhF33mhHA-9L4wqJqzZBqhsb_mewiav6KwLZy7pAAkIfNs8w8mL290qldpxh-zpy92Ui1QCxU0JtJOC3oJCfG4uqYcpxqJTkwfF2NvTmBv18rVrR/w266-h199/943-04-Gibraltar.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Barbary apes, Gibraltar</i></div><div style="font-style: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">The weather was perfect for our climb, with no wind but sufficiently fresh and cool to make climbing comfortable. At St Michael's Caves we stopped for lunch in the cliff cafe, toasted ham sandwiches and Heineken beer — what's wrong with Spanish beer? Only Boddington or Heineken was sold. From our seat we could look across the Straits to Africa with its mountains rising way back inland. We could also see Algeciras, the bay and the mountains of Andalucía back toward Ronda and in the direction of Cadiz. This is the best view I have ever had when munching a toasted sandwich! We didn't go into the cave; they are supposed to be well worth visiting but we've been in so many that we are jaded. Besides, it proclaimed that they descended 700 feet and we've been climbing all morning and didn't want to go down again yet.</div><p align="justify" class="western" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><span>We found the curtain wall built by Charles V in about 1552. It had decayed steps and a rusty handrail and went straight up the side of the Rock, cutting off much wandering along the winding road to the top, so we took our courage in both hands and set off. We would never dare descending that way, but just watching the step ahead made it feel safe. From time to time a wider enabled us to stop and look back. How could we have seemed so high and we first stopped to look back? This was really high. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-SybtPHstE2YEkqzc-ryiM8d1bo33ht30DyQRQLPM0KRMf1Gf5xIndfh4_XpmJLDYKSXvCaAacNvmKv92xPVPYbwW0XTDeiuTne2X1qqwfj8Gj0zo1MrJkvZ-KanO3QdKk8TAXwVu55raT-wqmByk9MFENX-N4kH38c7S2oyPvyt_86Sd5pMm/s1280/943-05-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-SybtPHstE2YEkqzc-ryiM8d1bo33ht30DyQRQLPM0KRMf1Gf5xIndfh4_XpmJLDYKSXvCaAacNvmKv92xPVPYbwW0XTDeiuTne2X1qqwfj8Gj0zo1MrJkvZ-KanO3QdKk8TAXwVu55raT-wqmByk9MFENX-N4kH38c7S2oyPvyt_86Sd5pMm/s320/943-05-Gibraltar.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the Upper Rock, Gibraltar</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The only creatures around on this route
were the apes, and they didn't bother with handrails except to run
along them. Eventually the wall became a dangerous ruin and we
abandoned it as it intersected with the winding road several loops
higher up. Determined to reach the highest possible point, we pressed
on up to a O’Hara’s Battery. Here our route was barred by iron
gates and razor wire but it didn't matter, we'd made it! Total
elation! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A
rocky scrambling path, all overgrown, continued around the side of
the Rock above the gate to the battery. Cautiously we followed it
until we came over the crest of the Rock and looked down the almost
sheer white side onto the Mediterranean, gulls flying way below and
the white towns of the Costa del Sol visible along the edge of the
sea, the Sierra Nevada rising up behind. From here we could see both
the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Europe and Africa, well worth
every step of the climb. We followed the rugged, narrow track along
the spiny ridge of the Rock with views down on both sides. The
classic face of the Rock is massive white limestone, and on the
Eastern side there are enormous water catchment slopes designed to
provide the inhabitants with a constant supply of fresh water. These
have now largely been replaced by a desalination plant. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigHL72AwQVvvsQUr8cFPB6t6kabc-nd3to0GuydvUcyuJhEEFceOF9QPyi8r07qqMK3W5CDREghJjiTV8J0ZBfj7vtjOl5pRBqEFMvrSl1fYeRBwA2XfBny_AxPTdqPgugwppnhpjTwBRtmSmsLeZRqp45ctMTg0nQQLIBvzgjDzvfTm4HalXD/s1280/943-06-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="807" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigHL72AwQVvvsQUr8cFPB6t6kabc-nd3to0GuydvUcyuJhEEFceOF9QPyi8r07qqMK3W5CDREghJjiTV8J0ZBfj7vtjOl5pRBqEFMvrSl1fYeRBwA2XfBny_AxPTdqPgugwppnhpjTwBRtmSmsLeZRqp45ctMTg0nQQLIBvzgjDzvfTm4HalXD/s320/943-06-Gibraltar.JPG" width="202" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-size: medium; letter-spacing: normal;"><i>View eastward from the Upper Rock, Gibraltar</i></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzNIPZn9_KGqkABgZGy7SroxvOcwfxKrYNlPYJ8QGLLwGabSnPyrOaGP31jTe4AMwa-py5La5cfH2TiCqZ_2Ij8Ln3270qvAoe7i_1bUuM_Wohpek5rh6rLff5RFXXzQQKXtYhiOmNQoHodMlnHetGko92qcIgkKyTQ8FDvWQ__sLBsIIoCiX/s1280/943-07-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="852" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzNIPZn9_KGqkABgZGy7SroxvOcwfxKrYNlPYJ8QGLLwGabSnPyrOaGP31jTe4AMwa-py5La5cfH2TiCqZ_2Ij8Ln3270qvAoe7i_1bUuM_Wohpek5rh6rLff5RFXXzQQKXtYhiOmNQoHodMlnHetGko92qcIgkKyTQ8FDvWQ__sLBsIIoCiX/s320/943-07-Gibraltar.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>O'Hara's Battery on the Upper Rock, Gibraltar</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0oMH9T-1cMmyMSi3p6RresJ7E0nSGUsV8-f3KCy9NVN4LxMl3VIGzmgLe-8WKZSK45PQcw_aFsiOl85bxHY3rOJY_n9flDPxoEVktXNge8_6yUJ33hmTgmkt11Xv2waDCR-Ts4hQESAdHZgNu8OWB-PGuLJfIAfHuPfKpmsbQ-WzFw8HmopAm/s1280/943-08-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="1280" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0oMH9T-1cMmyMSi3p6RresJ7E0nSGUsV8-f3KCy9NVN4LxMl3VIGzmgLe-8WKZSK45PQcw_aFsiOl85bxHY3rOJY_n9flDPxoEVktXNge8_6yUJ33hmTgmkt11Xv2waDCR-Ts4hQESAdHZgNu8OWB-PGuLJfIAfHuPfKpmsbQ-WzFw8HmopAm/s320/943-08-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the Upper Rock, Gibraltar</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6qFIwtSwbZ1-4yy6ww7XDB0rZekFh-Ml-DLEEOOrjRan__GCiBB24yEp_DTwlVL-FwFGkKoL_iOU1zymHXdSw9uxYbckjjvokucwnnL0Zq_OUBUEY9q7HmjSGBbfqtH3kXE4ePNxwHcTcx-J8shLeqDHWVyc_KH6lmOzIH2K0ILot1OMWd_BZ/s1280/943-09-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="1280" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6qFIwtSwbZ1-4yy6ww7XDB0rZekFh-Ml-DLEEOOrjRan__GCiBB24yEp_DTwlVL-FwFGkKoL_iOU1zymHXdSw9uxYbckjjvokucwnnL0Zq_OUBUEY9q7HmjSGBbfqtH3kXE4ePNxwHcTcx-J8shLeqDHWVyc_KH6lmOzIH2K0ILot1OMWd_BZ/s320/943-09-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the Upper Rock, Gibraltar</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhigrL8QTnGaeZSXOMECs2FKAGxrsh6MZ_OYw-72avfsGeGXLUvbe_sqK5fYkCEGGf6c44DYLiYEJ3dpdAgXVI4akbuPiN8frJQGEpeS4_nlHxbTo-Aw5PLHOg3FrYitzW3IinvXxH94YrOl7jbVnzWUO7wvbI5AGwhBJrwA6YQjw_7BaAphS-A/s1280/943-10-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhigrL8QTnGaeZSXOMECs2FKAGxrsh6MZ_OYw-72avfsGeGXLUvbe_sqK5fYkCEGGf6c44DYLiYEJ3dpdAgXVI4akbuPiN8frJQGEpeS4_nlHxbTo-Aw5PLHOg3FrYitzW3IinvXxH94YrOl7jbVnzWUO7wvbI5AGwhBJrwA6YQjw_7BaAphS-A/s320/943-10-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rock and roll, Gibraltar</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7m0-XJfhe2CTLZY6STffJ5zikT7bmiSRhsm2_nxmjF8ujHOQs75kwD-oXjMUkZ_I0sEZHL-6WfMlVyWK5wldqVGJYeGwBOyxQlw1eJezWEclIGds1zFEuafmWK8GSnwl9-rs1liLf4zRSf9N1VAg3IgirpzFOIm2KyrHDiX9yImv7Ic7y-4W/s1280/943-11-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7m0-XJfhe2CTLZY6STffJ5zikT7bmiSRhsm2_nxmjF8ujHOQs75kwD-oXjMUkZ_I0sEZHL-6WfMlVyWK5wldqVGJYeGwBOyxQlw1eJezWEclIGds1zFEuafmWK8GSnwl9-rs1liLf4zRSf9N1VAg3IgirpzFOIm2KyrHDiX9yImv7Ic7y-4W/s320/943-11-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Algecieras Bay from the Upper Rock, Gibraltar</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4HDr1kUc2iEYxRnVuxtwH0o_w84BK6iqOUm4PjN5zT4Gj4gUDtNjV-2lZfYdrpxnVqxxOuSrY2OBt717tpjcEg0mFQ3_NAExjQ35OSQSYQiNmY28KdrnjrzRDWtHvssm8N5c4ZsKoxQo2Tzoiun8dSgUdjSvxPaptFjIbCRLxcBupfmPaDjAB/s1280/943-12-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4HDr1kUc2iEYxRnVuxtwH0o_w84BK6iqOUm4PjN5zT4Gj4gUDtNjV-2lZfYdrpxnVqxxOuSrY2OBt717tpjcEg0mFQ3_NAExjQ35OSQSYQiNmY28KdrnjrzRDWtHvssm8N5c4ZsKoxQo2Tzoiun8dSgUdjSvxPaptFjIbCRLxcBupfmPaDjAB/s320/943-12-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHK3YOjmAxPouDJXhDFtTRjfWe7rB-hR90EQtX0TIDPFG7e1Un1mdVlNjvdEnhs5RZOpIH5YeabVAh4JgKWEO77LnMnMTCtSc27AScjCVlGsAfZ1BPLLXdlCIi4H116p0xUvpoyeSGiBJ4EZwmPI05lQmho_pOv6vKI1QrArQN8C-S3bthXsh/s1280/943-13-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1280" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHK3YOjmAxPouDJXhDFtTRjfWe7rB-hR90EQtX0TIDPFG7e1Un1mdVlNjvdEnhs5RZOpIH5YeabVAh4JgKWEO77LnMnMTCtSc27AScjCVlGsAfZ1BPLLXdlCIi4H116p0xUvpoyeSGiBJ4EZwmPI05lQmho_pOv6vKI1QrArQN8C-S3bthXsh/s320/943-13-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaG34OkEg47lqXBVa0cJSytF5A66_AxP6h6WMFXa1hesJlg6eGnIpEr0-igcJYQPGLgySHHwL3lfZIPoLqV-I0L7Ai3luKPC4njzfzy1TohJBm2MKbjqIxUU6ZDu6CFIIFM9LA5qN5Q8ItPki8mB5PjfbSoziP54eK_jRhjiOo_ekAIKwNE_4/s1280/943-14-Gibraltar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaG34OkEg47lqXBVa0cJSytF5A66_AxP6h6WMFXa1hesJlg6eGnIpEr0-igcJYQPGLgySHHwL3lfZIPoLqV-I0L7Ai3luKPC4njzfzy1TohJBm2MKbjqIxUU6ZDu6CFIIFM9LA5qN5Q8ItPki8mB5PjfbSoziP54eK_jRhjiOo_ekAIKwNE_4/s320/943-14-Gibraltar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>More views from the Upper Rock, Gibraltar</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What
goes up must eventually come down. It gets dark around 6:00 p.m. so
we wanted to be down in good time. We gradually clambered down to the
little road and then plodded steadily downwards through endless
juniper shrubs, cactuses and flowering narcissi. There was a smell of
wild thyme rather like the maquis, maybe the largest rockery in the
world. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Gibraltar’s
history is fascinating but would take too long to detail here, and
we've only scratched the surface. It was besieged by the Spanish from
1779 to 1783 and much of the early defence works originate from that
period. There is also an Arab fort dating from the 14th century and
earlier, and a Second World War gun emplacement. We struggled to the
area of the defence tunnels constructed in 1780 and asked how much it
cost to see round. The man said he didn't sell tickets; people bought
a £7.00 pass as they came up and it let them into everything on the
Upper Rock, how had we got here? When we said we had walked, he gaped
at us, nonplussed. Are we really the only people this mad? Anyway,
unless we paid £7.00 we could not go in, so we didn’t. Lower down we
discovered the back entrance and peeped in, but as there are around
30 miles of tunnels inside the Rock we decided we would give it a
miss. I think we were supposed to have paid £7.00 to visit the Upper
Rock, but there was no ticket office on the 16th century curtain wall
climb that we took. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our
legs were like jelly by the time he reached the town again, and we
were really hungry. In the Irish Town area we found a pub open,
heaving with all nationalities and serving Boddington's bitter and
Sunday roasts, even at 6:00 p.m. So we went into the hot, friendly
bar and gave ourselves up to British comfort. Service was slow, the
roast was off, the bill was wrong, but the beer and the steak and ale
pie with mash, carrots, peas and gravy were sheer heaven. No wonder
there were lots of Spanish people eating there; it must make a change
from tortillas and paella. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">We
staggered back to the border, warm inside and heavy with food. At the
airport runway our route was blocked. Out of the darkness a roar and
bright headlights as the evening flight from Gatwick touched down at
the Med’ end of the runway, tore across the road and skidded to a
stop just before it reached the Atlantic. At the moment of touchdown
forked lightning lit the sky and thunder crashed simultaneously, a
very dramatic moment. The plane once out of the way, pedestrians and
cars poured across a runway as the rain, absent all day, started to
fall again.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><b>Tuesday
7 December 2004, Residencia Universitaria Jacinto Benavente, Avenida
Jacinto Benavente 24, Málaga.</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
fly home later today, so yesterday we closed the circle of our
travels, returning by bus along the coast from </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">La
Línea</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
It is a very strange feeling, each time we set off into the unknown
in a country, to eventually rediscover familiar ground. We have done
so much in one week, travelling around with local people and buses
and trains, finding our way, discovering how friendly and helpful
people can be, even when you don't speak each other's language. We
have learned so much Spanish too, I'm astonished. What we need though
is a course in basic Spanish grammar so that we can string all the
words together into meaningful phrases. It is amazing how much you
can convey though, even with just words and actions. I am rather
surprised at how few people actually have any real knowledge of
English, given the enormous popularity of Andalucía with
English-speaking visitors. That said though, do the English residents
here all speak fluent Spanish? That is more of a necessity, I think. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So,
we arrived rather early at the bus station at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">La
Línea</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
yesterday on Monday morning. There is a really nice cafeteria and
restaurant there, indeed we have discovered that bus and railway
stations are the best and cheapest place, often the only place, to
find anything to eat and they seem to be open all hours. We were
served really nice coffee, toasted rolls, butter and jam for one 1.50
Euros (just over £1.00). We had had rain and thunder all night but
the sun was now bright and warm, and this lasted the whole day. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Before
heading east, the coach set out to Algeciras to pick up passengers,
some of whom looked as if they had just got off the boat from
Tangiers with their veils and long robes. It did seem exciting, going
right to the port and seeing signposts along the way saying Ceuta and
Tangiers. There are many camping cars going over, so maybe we'll try
it one day with Modestine. [And we did, see our blog for </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><u><a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2011/10/dire-straits.html"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">2011</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a></u></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">From
Algerciras we headed back along the motorway. Gibraltar looked really
impressive from further around the bay where it shows as a
really huge angular rock jutting up from the sea.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
are now at Málaga Airport where we've been for nearly one and a half
hours, wandering around in queues, waiting for gates to open, showing
passports umpteen times, and generally getting fed up, angry and
bored, with no opportunity or facility to sit quietly with a coffee
and finish writing up this diary. Ian is always mocking me from my
bad writing, but he's the one who insists on sitting right by the
boarding gate with no table or facility to make writing easier. It is
the same in hotel rooms; I rarely have anywhere but my knees to use as
a table. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
are now on on board, waiting for take-off. The plane is
surprisingly full for a Tuesday in December to a provincial town like
Exeter. Not a single Spanish traveller though; they are obviously
less adventurous with travelling than British and German people who
turn up all over the world. It is interesting to note that Citroën
Berlingo vehicles [the chassis for our Romahome Modestine] are the standard at the airport here, there are dozens of
them in service. Today the weather here is warm and sunny t-shirt
weather. The temperature in Exeter is announced as three degrees. A
couple of ladies seated nearby have just asked for extensions to
enable them to close their seat belts. They must have found more to
eat in Spain than we did. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><b>Wednesday
8 December 2004 9:00 a.m., Exeter</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
should be off to work but want to write this up before it all fades
in my memory. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On
Monday we reached Málaga around 12:30. After a coffee and tortilla
sandwich (egg and potato butty) at the station, we struggled across
town to catch the bus to the hostel. When we arrived, there was
nobody around so we were able to check in. We have decided that it's
not a good place at all with poor facilities, very shabby, nobody on
duty and, at 32 Euros a night, far more expensive than some of the
places we've stayed at that were better equipped. We won't be
advising Kate to stay there. Eventually someone in the kitchen heard
us banging and we explained our problem in Spanish. He agreed to look
after our baggage until we returned in the evening. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">In the town Christmas decorations were up. They are very different from ours; poinsettias are everywhere, even Christmas trees made from poinsettia plants. They line the avenidas, hang from lamp-posts, there is a haze of red over the whole town. All the roundabouts at crossroads have life-sized nativity scenes with camels, donkeys, wise men, shepherds and the Holy Family all made out of natural materials such as coconut fronds tree bark and beautiful flowers. </span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYII2BKeggMFDzmsg6KsRFw7axm-RjOOR_5bA8vHEhdUyWPxEQAfeNAakvwHfTHzxsV681U-4OfYa8vfCqMJYV8z-rml0vn1xub3-eS6QLA_JRdnL0QgF0x1g2xIZYJnai7seJ-TZcd--acY_YHIxQMKpJ7IKjzUzt32cTmpHI0MJ2Yo5uMEvs/s1280/943-15-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="825" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYII2BKeggMFDzmsg6KsRFw7axm-RjOOR_5bA8vHEhdUyWPxEQAfeNAakvwHfTHzxsV681U-4OfYa8vfCqMJYV8z-rml0vn1xub3-eS6QLA_JRdnL0QgF0x1g2xIZYJnai7seJ-TZcd--acY_YHIxQMKpJ7IKjzUzt32cTmpHI0MJ2Yo5uMEvs/s320/943-15-Malaga.JPG" width="206" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">Christmas tree made from poinsettias, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Málaga</span></span></i></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUE9bbY4m4I4f6iOSRhJLckZuUDi8IJK7Mm9JAvVDZ54XfNmAdkEtzQzM0KgWzEHw5A3c9wJr7utCHHL4p4YZZY9Rs0KSsWIdJPalIoCCE1Xcq3PVuiS0i7CZxqatSgluVLBwWHFCwuqQB_dytQzB0Z70d9bT4rNqMwzZDiggRNRNuZjqEW4Pz/s1280/943-16-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUE9bbY4m4I4f6iOSRhJLckZuUDi8IJK7Mm9JAvVDZ54XfNmAdkEtzQzM0KgWzEHw5A3c9wJr7utCHHL4p4YZZY9Rs0KSsWIdJPalIoCCE1Xcq3PVuiS0i7CZxqatSgluVLBwWHFCwuqQB_dytQzB0Z70d9bT4rNqMwzZDiggRNRNuZjqEW4Pz/s320/943-16-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>Christmas decorations, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Málaga</span></i></div><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="text-align: left;">So we returned to the centre of Málaga, to a very pleasant and relaxed warm, sunny afternoon wandering the sea front paddling in the sea, admiring the beautiful flowers blooming in the Alamedir Gardens and below the walls of the Alcazaba. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XEVn5nJXVVhshKtwF6-_AyVC1K0rTf3QvZppVCKZidSGPGEot2uqb2HytFjE2S0RUyDhGckJ7Qidkp2r8zckURpS5XUHnZY12pSRD-GLj4bth9NQKLWqknuhL9rqtjSQmgwQvL20t_GLeKgVQKO91Yevbc_DOZGq9bWEEiT2HwxHAD17G0W5/s1280/943-17-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XEVn5nJXVVhshKtwF6-_AyVC1K0rTf3QvZppVCKZidSGPGEot2uqb2HytFjE2S0RUyDhGckJ7Qidkp2r8zckURpS5XUHnZY12pSRD-GLj4bth9NQKLWqknuhL9rqtjSQmgwQvL20t_GLeKgVQKO91Yevbc_DOZGq9bWEEiT2HwxHAD17G0W5/s320/943-17-Malaga.JPG" width="207" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>Gardens in December, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Málaga</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY14giNGhJkEp6aja162PvaU1er25wFdkmNgFLPYvk1ItdB9PuzD0e6S7DdhGb2jntyikzy2T_C-QYPnPJUeh-TAFOE0r6nxXgnX3k-kE9O7-4GSHqk1cb9z1qHr_INM5T_E34Jy0f1UT-IVwG-GRp3lAfcy8g7geHtqpIkoYZIZSmZWsAZm7y/s1280/943-18-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY14giNGhJkEp6aja162PvaU1er25wFdkmNgFLPYvk1ItdB9PuzD0e6S7DdhGb2jntyikzy2T_C-QYPnPJUeh-TAFOE0r6nxXgnX3k-kE9O7-4GSHqk1cb9z1qHr_INM5T_E34Jy0f1UT-IVwG-GRp3lAfcy8g7geHtqpIkoYZIZSmZWsAZm7y/s320/943-18-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>A December paddle, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Málaga</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZaw8Qj-BMBRb27Gs7s0tTiw_d5_VXVon-4szfuuXXJ1gLEGJ9gt9L0AcTtAif0joISX0ppTmnzD-yBx31vZwqWTW8vopGnfcWyHy5aCh0iewu9dTlji7ypV8uoG0BfvZbmdzMa7w7rRiH7pwIVPho4W1a0KxKEIT8y403HW-vGdWjIgKSuEg/s1280/943-19-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZaw8Qj-BMBRb27Gs7s0tTiw_d5_VXVon-4szfuuXXJ1gLEGJ9gt9L0AcTtAif0joISX0ppTmnzD-yBx31vZwqWTW8vopGnfcWyHy5aCh0iewu9dTlji7ypV8uoG0BfvZbmdzMa7w7rRiH7pwIVPho4W1a0KxKEIT8y403HW-vGdWjIgKSuEg/s320/943-19-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>A December paddle, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Málaga</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SH3gFS17nXKdvD8sbn03Q4kfajQ028DnYPW0k6Yw45UqqBvN-vNKCrRKSk8LQ8hpjHpTDsxVjAJ7TQ83pbcL0xTuMef-xAN3MBwXF7-XT3TET4XIypB8NyvEhFTyCEYzAdi5WEDFfVhEJzhcm40y_DtHab4caeRuivZaxmCTomvH__xxg5lu/s1280/943-20-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SH3gFS17nXKdvD8sbn03Q4kfajQ028DnYPW0k6Yw45UqqBvN-vNKCrRKSk8LQ8hpjHpTDsxVjAJ7TQ83pbcL0xTuMef-xAN3MBwXF7-XT3TET4XIypB8NyvEhFTyCEYzAdi5WEDFfVhEJzhcm40y_DtHab4caeRuivZaxmCTomvH__xxg5lu/s320/943-20-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>December evening, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Málaga</span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKI53jPzUZ9vfc3GUG_hGhlbNMqhuHykc--e6sSuuTOjqNc8oz_uXVw3AkUUYnU_OrZod7NIj-Fsty7sBcIL67rmUxJ5OYS5-3Vu-5xMX6upQVdZG0MlOy00s7UywzbIRcxYNLe9rtjGT7qxMAbsds7og8AI_BkX5ohyZGxqLYAn0I0KfrscO/s1280/943-21-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKI53jPzUZ9vfc3GUG_hGhlbNMqhuHykc--e6sSuuTOjqNc8oz_uXVw3AkUUYnU_OrZod7NIj-Fsty7sBcIL67rmUxJ5OYS5-3Vu-5xMX6upQVdZG0MlOy00s7UywzbIRcxYNLe9rtjGT7qxMAbsds7og8AI_BkX5ohyZGxqLYAn0I0KfrscO/s320/943-21-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>December evening, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Málaga</span></i></div><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="text-align: left;">As darkness fell, the Christmas lights came on and the town took on a magical feel. The pedestrianized area was packed, there were jazz bands playing Spanish Christmas music, the were long rows of illuminated stalls selling books, nativity figures and assorted junk, and kiosks selling popcorn, crisps, sweets and ices. The weather was warm, the sea lapped the beach, and the flower beds under the palm trees were in full bloom with red poinsettias. Every street café was bursting with couples and families enjoying coffee and chocolate with huge platefuls of long, thin, freshly baked hot doughnuts. It certainly was an experience to see how another country anticipates Christmas. I gather it was a national holiday but don't know what for [perhaps Constitution Day]. It does explain the festive atmosphere though.</span></p></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYSpFtwkUs5lvZR9b0_U1v6YVhj_WQKIKbNudwA_h9WSzek_1cXqbA1S-U-m0z3XeoXRs2kcP8nYEWTvafHEt1oA0DiEt41FWxrDckUlNeqeQSIzwlm6qGiFFubH_ZKZVk-pj_qn84uO_HLCYQ8ZG4Wj4o6XecelKqHYNjQLp5Yg_5zHyQsXW/s1280/943-22-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYSpFtwkUs5lvZR9b0_U1v6YVhj_WQKIKbNudwA_h9WSzek_1cXqbA1S-U-m0z3XeoXRs2kcP8nYEWTvafHEt1oA0DiEt41FWxrDckUlNeqeQSIzwlm6qGiFFubH_ZKZVk-pj_qn84uO_HLCYQ8ZG4Wj4o6XecelKqHYNjQLp5Yg_5zHyQsXW/s320/943-22-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-size: medium; letter-spacing: normal;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>Christmas decorations, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Málaga</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUohZ6-_orQk6pcKX7E915SFPCrVmZ37ExvTBO__qyCvB3F4oxkQxjGzidlWb-zvBbBl-otc3PWHgpPcb5WfpPqNwSXcTUuozshWhHwm5jvcByNB_OaNl5fTyRf-uXiz2IwtRVkW2B2XggK3BciFbPsSQd633xdHw5-K59CSuW94XSOKK-WNY/s1280/943-23-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUohZ6-_orQk6pcKX7E915SFPCrVmZ37ExvTBO__qyCvB3F4oxkQxjGzidlWb-zvBbBl-otc3PWHgpPcb5WfpPqNwSXcTUuozshWhHwm5jvcByNB_OaNl5fTyRf-uXiz2IwtRVkW2B2XggK3BciFbPsSQd633xdHw5-K59CSuW94XSOKK-WNY/s320/943-23-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span>Christmas decorations, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Málaga</span></i></div><span style="text-align: left;"><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="text-align: left;">Eventually
we returned to the hostel to find a cold, inhospitable room and took
supper with the few students who not gone home for the long weekend.
They seem a silent and unsmiling lot, not a nice place for them to be
so far from their homes, and we felt rather sorry for them. They each
ate silently and rapidly before leaving, not for a night on the town
but to return to their very basic rooms. It was very different from
the atmosphere at British university halls of residence.</span></p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">On
Tuesday morning [yesterday] breakfast wasn't being served until 10:00
despite us paying for it and not being informed. We had to leave at
8:00 a.m., so we went hungry until the airport where we had a roll
and coffee.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">It
wasn't actually as cold as we'd feared when we landed at Exeter, and
the sun was shining. Having crossed the vast, brown, empty interior
of Spain with its mountainous terrain and snow-capped mountains, it
was agreeable to reach England via the Devon coast to follow the red
cliffs along from the from the Exe estuary at Exmouth, past Budleigh
Salterton, turning inland over Sidmouth to descend to the airport
across the countryside of unbelievably green fields edged by
hedgerows, the sun sparkling on the sea, the river and pockets of
inland water with sheep and cattle out in the fields – we had seen
very few in Spain. One thing about travelling is that it makes you
see your own home and its surroundings with fresh eyes.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<br />
</p></div>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-17348412421666295792023-08-26T15:08:00.001+01:002023-08-26T15:15:12.082+01:00The rain in Spain 2004. Downpour 2: Cordoba and Ronda<p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Wednesday
1 December 2004, Hotel International, Córdoba.</span></b></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">We
left Granada on the 9:00 a.m. bus to Córdoba across the vast, empty
Sierra Nevada. It was dark as we carried our luggage through the wet, empty backstreets of Granada at 7:30 a.m. to catch the bus to the
station, it was also very cold indeed. We left Granada with few
regrets; it wasn't the most welcoming of cities. Seville had rather
spoilt us. Although Granada's Alhambra was stunning to visit, we had
not felt particularly comfortable in Granada. At the station we had
40 minutes before the bus, so really enjoyed a coffee and tomato
tostada as breakfast. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The bus was fairly empty and Ian followed the
journey with his map. I tried to enjoy the countryside but drifted
off to sleep as the endless kilometres of the featureless Sierra
Nevada passed by our window. Here and there are dilapidated,
crumbling buildings standing by the roadside or back up the hillside,
but generally the countryside was completely deserted with neither man
nor beast anywhere. Not even a bird could be seen, just brown, grey
or yellow scrubland or bare soil with the outline of the higher peaks
just visible through swirling torrential rain. From time to time our
route would take us through some dilapidated forgotten town, full of
steep, wet tiled streets and pavements with a few bars, cafés,
garages and so on. The buildings were generally white rendered but
severely decayed, with rubbish tips on the outskirts and a few
industrial buildings, such as a car body repairer or a fitted kitchen
supplier, on the outskirts. I cannot remotely imagine living in such
a place. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">As
we gradually approached Córdoba, the bare hillsides which may have
supported a crop of some sort earlier in the year gave way to endless
stretches of olive trees. We passed through Baena in the centre of
this area with its enormous silos of olive oil towering over the
plains of the countryside, lower here than around Granada, and
vaguely reminiscent of Dartmoor, but without the beauty. The entire
wealth of this area seems to be founded on olive oil. The nearer we
got to Córdoba, the more heavily the rain fell. It was falling in
torrents as we got off the bus. We felt like moving straight onto
somewhere warmer but there were no buses. So we sat drinking coffee
until the rain eased sufficiently for Ian to make a dash for the
railway station to pick up a map and brief guide. Then we walked a
kilometre into town with our luggage.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This
hostel we found by chance attached to the Music School, with wind
instruments tuning up and practising all day. A delightful young lady
welcomed us and explained all we needed to know, amid much laughter,
in Spanish. The owner was out but we negotiated a double room with en
suite shower loos etc for 32 Euros in what seems a quiet backstreet
just off the main shopping area. The shower is down a step and has
rounded arches and barrel vaulting, so it feels as it as if we are in
an Arab bath house. The lady owner returned. She also speaks no
English but is friendly and d</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">elightful.
She insisted on lending me her umbrella to take with us as we
explored the town. For some reason this touched me greatly; she'd
never met us before but the gesture like that was spontaneous, warm
and friendly. In fact we were very grateful for it, as it poured most
of the afternoon and when it rains in Spain it is a constant deluge
with water cascading from every rooftop into the narrow cobbled or
paved walkways </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">between
the tight packed white stuccoed house fronts. At the cathedral we
even had a hail storm, with white pebbles bouncing around at the base
of the fruiting orange trees filling the paved courtyard of the Arab
mosque cum Christian cathedral. This has to count as one of the most
strange and beautiful cathedrals we have ever visited. It is probably
one of the longest continuously used places of prayer anywhere,
having been originally used by the Romans, then Visigoths, then Moors
and then the Christians. The Muslim population are now requesting,
with every justification I think, that part of the building should
returned to them as a place in which they can once again worship. The
building beggars description. Yellow stonework outside with its
flowering courtyard, separate tower where the minaret once stood, a
covered Arab style walkway or cloister surrounding the courtyard and
giving wonderful vistas across from every side to the Arab
decorations, solid brass metal shutters and keyhole archways. On
entering, one walks through an enormous forest of slim Arab columns
with reused Roman capitals topped by slender double arches, each
built from alternating red brick and white stone. Over 850 of these
still remain from the original 1300 or more, and they are stunning.
Here the atmosphere of a mosque is overpowering, and Córdoba must
have been an astonishing city back in the 9th to 12th centuries when
so many Moors gathered together for prayer. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Inside_the_Cathedral-Mosque_(C%C3%B3rdoba%2C_Spain).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Inside_the_Cathedral-Mosque_(C%C3%B3rdoba%2C_Spain).jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Inside the mosque/cathedral, <span style="text-align: left;">Córdoba</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The centre houses a
Christian cathedral, enormous in an ornate Renaissance 16th century
flamboyant style, all marble and carved and gilded wood. It is very
spectacular but so incredibly different from the surrounding Moorish
architecture, that personally I found it hard to cope with. What the many groups of Japanese visitors made of all this is impossible to
imagine. The patterns and geometric shapes of the Arab architecture
and decoration are in very marked contrast to the statues, icons and
paintings of saints in the Christian part. There must, I suppose,
have existed a period when everyone lived in harmony, each accepting
the rights of the other to worship in their own way; it would be good
to return to that again.</span></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlL0ZEpFZs-AY55BYtB9pdBjkWUJ_JaZc24VKg_Y3vkUbTMkN9es6LZDJnmpJw92mbW624DSpI4E2gTJTyxIq__NIgNQDB627TuYIyhTZDWcbRXRfuezvlW0OKQ3XmK_BzLQERwL3OK2hJENPMgtS4KlquHMHyj97Sel_0rXfGxHZOGIBUEJ0I/s1280/942-13-Cordoba.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlL0ZEpFZs-AY55BYtB9pdBjkWUJ_JaZc24VKg_Y3vkUbTMkN9es6LZDJnmpJw92mbW624DSpI4E2gTJTyxIq__NIgNQDB627TuYIyhTZDWcbRXRfuezvlW0OKQ3XmK_BzLQERwL3OK2hJENPMgtS4KlquHMHyj97Sel_0rXfGxHZOGIBUEJ0I/s320/942-13-Cordoba.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">Rain in the Cathedral courtyard, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Córdoba</span></span></i></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leaving the cathedral, we explored the Jewish area and visited the synagogue, also very Moorish in style. This is a very pleasant, interesting area, full of little flowering courtyards in summer and quaint alleyways between the tight packed buildings.</div><p align="justify" class="western" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>We exited the city walls and walked down on the outside, admiring the orange stone work the crenelations and the date palms, green and colourful against the walls. We reached the river Guadalquivir; after all the rain this was flowing wide and shallow and water birds were really enjoying themselves. There are several old Arab watermills here, originally used for grinding corn but also to pump up water for the fountains and gardens of the royal palace and other buildings of the town in that wonderful, civilised, cultured period.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJUD1URR6jmbfiyrgB_XFVGAkf-q2qovQ0rIaMriRyHF2un3cxGn2rbBbaojum80FGm0UddI3lnvQ-rb1Isb_OtCv0glBc9Lbd21IYtQFknn-iyOpZOmOYQtb0QnagUJwtNYMyI8gTaKznBrcOJi67c5BJA1oGitfAYke-QqQuvlXpkSw279m/s1280/942-15-Cordoba.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="804" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJUD1URR6jmbfiyrgB_XFVGAkf-q2qovQ0rIaMriRyHF2un3cxGn2rbBbaojum80FGm0UddI3lnvQ-rb1Isb_OtCv0glBc9Lbd21IYtQFknn-iyOpZOmOYQtb0QnagUJwtNYMyI8gTaKznBrcOJi67c5BJA1oGitfAYke-QqQuvlXpkSw279m/s320/942-15-Cordoba.JPG" width="201" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>Outside the city walls, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Córdoba</span></span></i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNykJIKtLXciO3lcTCwcsh8DZu8fVwawJ8QkpGfZucn89jjBAiwxCUlzvP3jWu6m9t4k52Ph3Rxxqm-S-6oIcbGsnCHkQHazWKmmIZ1VUEO3QaXCggOY-X7T4wbCXS3p8WNlQ3BtXYXtLSTkP9cG4cLn7eEqGUYpytebreHoLKx4w17PT0xUt/s1280/942-16-Cordoba.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="838" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNykJIKtLXciO3lcTCwcsh8DZu8fVwawJ8QkpGfZucn89jjBAiwxCUlzvP3jWu6m9t4k52Ph3Rxxqm-S-6oIcbGsnCHkQHazWKmmIZ1VUEO3QaXCggOY-X7T4wbCXS3p8WNlQ3BtXYXtLSTkP9cG4cLn7eEqGUYpytebreHoLKx4w17PT0xUt/s320/942-16-Cordoba.JPG" width="210" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>Outside the city walls, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Córdoba</span></span></i></div><br /><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-align: justify;">We crossed the many arched, pedestrianized Roman Bridge to the far bank of the Guadalquivir river with its square tower, the Torre de la Calahorra, dating from the 14th century and now a museum of Islamic culture.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8oRLhh16mEYsw3I4PbSYMbkauqjsKTgPrzM6wwl3tGUXefXY09y_FACzDa7CqVMo2Z9Szk6g_SHLe1iH3DR1kaA6AzdQZbeYMn7mHESeMGgwxkTx_KtOxyu4IpquPFj86chlDOudLGDc_t11yWlmiQse16dWjg60zgeh_4bYtupY3B6f_0uc/s1280/942-14-Cordoba.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8oRLhh16mEYsw3I4PbSYMbkauqjsKTgPrzM6wwl3tGUXefXY09y_FACzDa7CqVMo2Z9Szk6g_SHLe1iH3DR1kaA6AzdQZbeYMn7mHESeMGgwxkTx_KtOxyu4IpquPFj86chlDOudLGDc_t11yWlmiQse16dWjg60zgeh_4bYtupY3B6f_0uc/s320/942-14-Cordoba.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Crossing the Roman bridge, <span style="text-align: justify;">Córdoba</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Returning
to the town, we visited the interior of the Palace of the Christian
Kings. It was quite simple inside but again very Moorish in style,
with Arab baths beneath, wonderful water gardens full of huge ponds
and fountains, rose beds, palm trees, walnut trees (we ate some of
the fallen nuts), all symmetrically laid out with flowing canalised
water running between the marble flagstones and shaded by the orange
coloured walls. From the tower and the crenelated battlements we had
lovely views over the Spanish roof tops of old Córdoba.</div></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Next
we made our way to the more modern part of the city. It was now dark
and paseo time. The town was humming with activity, families out
window shopping, and all the shops were busy although it didn't seem
just three weeks to Christmas. It is all much more low key here. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
got caught up in a street march for the respect and dignity of
teachers. They were all very controlled and dignified but there must
have been hundreds of teachers marching, complete with banners. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtndxMVrMXBK2sevNRZUlFIR0u1gN_YV1iQgwdPS0kBj6MbKv32SW92JUOCHqE9RJ5QK77zowdswIgxFHqCtOc74CWozX4SLWbFdFx1dno7Txp7KAwTxPAnT7jpO7PtdqUgRd9iukNccGDZZ18R9NgMYIZYsjDBMgjQIkSzclrbWDyP9pRKjb/s1280/942-17-Cordoba.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1280" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtndxMVrMXBK2sevNRZUlFIR0u1gN_YV1iQgwdPS0kBj6MbKv32SW92JUOCHqE9RJ5QK77zowdswIgxFHqCtOc74CWozX4SLWbFdFx1dno7Txp7KAwTxPAnT7jpO7PtdqUgRd9iukNccGDZZ18R9NgMYIZYsjDBMgjQIkSzclrbWDyP9pRKjb/s320/942-17-Cordoba.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">Demonstration by teachers, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Córdoba</span></span></i></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">We
bought some wine and returned to our room to relax briefly before
setting out to discover Córdoba's nightlife. It is certainly a
bright, lively, sophisticated City. We found a nice restaurant near
the Plaza de Tendillas with a pleasant, friendly waiter. The place
was full of regulars, mainly just drinking and talking volubly. We
had for ten Euros (about £7 each) the best meal we have had in
Spain. Asparagus chopped with scrambled eggs and ham, followed by
pork roll, salad and chips and lemon mousse. We were also given a
digestive with ice, compliments of the house, which was very
friendly.</span></div></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thursday
2 December 2004, Hotel International Córdoba.</span></b></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">It
will be obvious that I've taken to this city in a way I did not to
Granada. That was worth visiting for the Alhambra and the old town
but the atmosphere was less agreeable than here. This has the charm
as we had felt in Seville, bright, clean, friendly and cultured.
Unlike Seville however this is a town of its residence and not just
tourists. We spent the whole day wandering the myriads of little
calles (streets) and plazas of the old town, peering through enticing
doorways to look at pretty paved patios filled with green pot plants,
little fountains, climbing plants and citrus trees. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzdeGptGGTgf58WM64roV6F8WvP4FL4hOzODG0X_yGRtejq176Pgu0g1r4XqXIe-bYxfJdSuBTzDLPkYV0Z-JywRu4yAAe4bWpQR7bXLD4T0DpfgKu70q3v_koYu0CYvNZ5sWauTw-8dApUiGF8puk_7M3wdj8mb_6x2z5eZd84NQaTcnxvXB/s1280/942-18-Cordoba.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzdeGptGGTgf58WM64roV6F8WvP4FL4hOzODG0X_yGRtejq176Pgu0g1r4XqXIe-bYxfJdSuBTzDLPkYV0Z-JywRu4yAAe4bWpQR7bXLD4T0DpfgKu70q3v_koYu0CYvNZ5sWauTw-8dApUiGF8puk_7M3wdj8mb_6x2z5eZd84NQaTcnxvXB/s320/942-18-Cordoba.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Courtyard in <span style="text-align: justify;">Córdoba</span></span></div><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>We have discovered Roman remains, art galleries, archaeological museums, palaces and much much more. The little streets are clean, free of graffiti, whitewashed. Where possible, cars struggle and navigate their way through. Restoration work is taking place everywhere. We got talking with a lady who had lived in Australia for a while in her youth and spoke English. She told us the problem with carrying out restoration work was that new discoveries keep being made of even older antiquities. In 1959 a series of huge beautiful Roman mosaics were discovered when a Plaza was relaid. We saw these yesterday displayed in the Palace of the Christian Kings. The lady we met was on her lunch break and told us she had already been home and come out just to walk around her beloved Córdoba. She had lived here for many years and still loved it so much, and kept discovering new corners. She was thinking of buying a little historic house which was for sale - we had been wondering about it when she started chatting. She says it is 500 square meters and costs 200,000 euros. It has a patio and looks charming, facing the old tumbling walls of a far more ancient building across the alley. She took us round to show us the garden of the ruined building, which is beautiful. Then she showed us the birth house of the 16th century Spanish poet</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><span> Luis de Góngora (1561-1627), currently </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span><span>being restored in his memory. Then she led us to a narrow cobbled alley between the walls of two ancient buildings, telling us it was 2000 years old and had been in use since the time of Jesus Christ. She told us of an event recorded there in 974 which referred to the street already as being over a thousand years old.<span style="font-family: times;"> [</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e;"><span style="font-family: times;">Apparently two Cordoban historians, Aben Hayan and Ambrosio de Morales claim that in the year 974 Gonzalo Gustioz Lord of Salas was imprisoned in the </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4a4a4a; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Casa de las Cabezas</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"> in this street and that the heads of his children, the seven infants of Lara, killed in the fields of Soria, were exposed on the arches that cross the street.]</span></span><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left;">Finally she led us to the lovely archaeological museum where she left us, saying she hoped we enjoyed our visit and told us how to find further wonders of her beloved city. She was so charming, just wanting us to get some of the pleasure from her home city that she had always enjoyed with no ulterior motive.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rSplTDLjClfOBHzpHgjWuTHQ2_-HOg_fRgZgD_5ldLQ1mAvR-u7XFMiFAQ5EXIHtvCbeE-0TPLNReqdOsOdBAaXIVGTvPwbLTg3wkcbZMkDFO4V_VWuDmZAUENbERt6Gchl9d8ya1ZVnzQDtKq0EtkgFXaTHKBlgxES2yF3IkvKehXP8k1p0/s1280/942-19-Cordoba.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rSplTDLjClfOBHzpHgjWuTHQ2_-HOg_fRgZgD_5ldLQ1mAvR-u7XFMiFAQ5EXIHtvCbeE-0TPLNReqdOsOdBAaXIVGTvPwbLTg3wkcbZMkDFO4V_VWuDmZAUENbERt6Gchl9d8ya1ZVnzQDtKq0EtkgFXaTHKBlgxES2yF3IkvKehXP8k1p0/s320/942-19-Cordoba.JPG" width="207" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Calleja de los Arquillos, <span style="text-align: justify;">Córdoba</span></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">We
stopped at a cafeteria mid-morning for coffee and tostadas, roasted
rolls drizzled with pureed tomatoes and olive oil, very nice and very
cheap. We visited the Museum of Fine Arts which turned out to be free
admission as we are EU citizens. Chronologically arranged, it
contained mainly religious paintings, bronzes and marble sculptures
in the beautiful palace buildings around a central courtyard with a
fountain, orange and lemon trees and neatly laid tiny cobbles forming
patterns in black and white stones. All the works displayed are by
local artists.</span></div>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Later
this afternoon we visited the patios of the Palacio de Viana,
thirteen little patios or courtyards that even in December are
breath-taking in their display of colour. Citrus trees bear their
Christmas baubles of bright fruit, symmetrically cut box hedges line
the black and white cobbles that form the patterned walkways around
the walled gardens. The sound of water is everywhere. Walls are
whitewashed and are covered with climbing plants: blooming purple and
scarlet bougainvillea, mauve Cape leadwort, celestines, wisteria,
climbing roses. There are decorative wells and marble fountains, date
palms, cypress trees, oleanders, ivy, even a massive 400 year old
holm oak. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Pot
plants hang from the walls and borders are filled with geraniums. In
summer beds are filled with begonias but now they had been filled
with pots of lilies aspidistras and tradescantia. Each garden added
to the d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">elight
of the previous so that they are now all merged in memory into a
single superb experience, a harmony between man and nature,
magnificent but on a realistic scale, small patios and courtyards
rather than grand palace gardens.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Also
free for EU citizens was the Archaeological Museum housed in a former
Renaissance palace on the Plaza Jeronimo Paez. It showed the depth of
history in Córdoba and its region, extending to the pre-roman
Iberian culture with its endearing sculptures of lions, and various
rock paintings. The Roman remains form the main part of the Museum
and reveal what a rich settlement it must have been. Elaborately
carved capitals, column bases, inscriptions and sculptures fill the
galleries and the outdoor courtyard. There are even the curved steps
forming a public area adjacent to the theatre preserved in situ
beneath the foundations. Many of the inscriptions are in the less
formal rustic style also found in manuscripts, a reflection of the
highly developed literacy of a culture that produced Seneca and
Lucan, both born in Roman Córdoba. There were also more private
remains, including beautiful glassware. There are also remains of the
Visigothic and Islamic periods including capitals and inscriptions on
large earthenware containers of the type used for plants in patio
gardens. We had the whole place almost to ourselves, not even the
noisy group of red uniformed school children we had picked our way
around in the art gallery were there. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90ZmD0VkvpM3wqhDPTzQsISrX9HCHizPZQzhze46zT8vIDNgP4d41VQu4pH7fY6cyc9i6srNp0J7xD8JtSIf8EIpqoN6u1YVfZOflVqpQZSUNb2u-mrFcnOenAegC95Igr1cM1V440eIPqMlc--z2fVF5VVvrAQ8e-o700cfHKj7JHu5dNBdw/s1280/942-20-Cordoba.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="830" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90ZmD0VkvpM3wqhDPTzQsISrX9HCHizPZQzhze46zT8vIDNgP4d41VQu4pH7fY6cyc9i6srNp0J7xD8JtSIf8EIpqoN6u1YVfZOflVqpQZSUNb2u-mrFcnOenAegC95Igr1cM1V440eIPqMlc--z2fVF5VVvrAQ8e-o700cfHKj7JHu5dNBdw/s320/942-20-Cordoba.JPG" width="208" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">Exterior of Cathedral, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Córdoba</span></span></i></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTc-SAwjNMOaPt1eduJNoAtB0gUtTsgURxlS5CQEpf_hNVwtcP0bKYbM68DRKcE7lrtHbSxytNsebAT9fVYL-AShsMBZGqyb2RxyBQEWrbLwpRHItsFiZapiljncdgSA2wl5JfPKKUvLW09CXh7a1fAEZdvY1YqtnNgkh8JWuDSNQ6GamuULuR/s1280/942-21-Cordoba.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTc-SAwjNMOaPt1eduJNoAtB0gUtTsgURxlS5CQEpf_hNVwtcP0bKYbM68DRKcE7lrtHbSxytNsebAT9fVYL-AShsMBZGqyb2RxyBQEWrbLwpRHItsFiZapiljncdgSA2wl5JfPKKUvLW09CXh7a1fAEZdvY1YqtnNgkh8JWuDSNQ6GamuULuR/s320/942-21-Cordoba.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Minaret of mosque/cathedral, <span style="text-align: justify;">Córdoba</span></i></div><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">After
further wandering around the streets we made our way back to the
Hostal International for some wine and to write up the diary, then
decided to test out the route to the railway or bus station. Once
there, we inquired about trains to Ronda or Algeciras and found one
convenient through train at 10:24. We were told that reserved tickets
were essential, so went across to the advance booking counter. A
strict queueing system operated and we pulled ticket 333 when they
were serving 278. After about half an hour spent wandering the
station with its inevitable shops such as Tie Rack, our turn was
almost up when Ian discovered an automatic ticket machine which
informed us that the train was full. We almost left there and then to
buy a coach ticket to Málaga but decided to wait our turn. The
ticket seller bashed at the keyboard and came up with the same
result, no tickets for tourists or even as baggage. He continued to
pound the keyboard and then began feeding a series of tickets into
the printer. What he had done was to issue two sets of reservations
for the sections of the journey either side of Bobadilla, where many
people changed trains. We had two seats together non-smoking and did
not even have to move carriages. We came away not over impressed at
Spanish railways, but extremely impressed that the trouble staff went
to circumvent the system. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
returned along streets now lit brightly with Christmas decorations
through a marquee at least 100 meters long lined with stalls selling
Christmas tat and had a reasonable meal as the only customers in a
friendly restaurant on the Plaza Tendrillos, despite the active
efforts of the waiters to entice in other passers by. How do they
survive? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Friday
3 December 2005, Hotel Andalucia, Ronda, next to the station.</b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
left Córdoba after breakfasting our room. The lateral thinking of
the nice railway official worked perfectly. We simply changed seats
at Bobadilla for others in our carriage, no need to move our luggage,
and continued onto Ronda. We have since learned that the problem of
no seats was caused by a strike by Renfe (Spanish railways) staff
cancelling many trains, especially the cheap ones, as every train
charges a different price. The journey from Córdoba to Bobadillo was
boring in the extreme; there is really nothing to see in the bare
Spanish countryside in December. The earth is completely bare with no
hedges or wildlife as far as the eye can see. Hillsides were swathed
in low cloud and the rain fell steadily. From time to time we would
pass a couple of kilometres from an isolated little town with no
station of its own. The lines are generally single track and the
trains move very slowly; it took three hours from Córdoba to Ronda
but it is not really very far at all, less than 120 miles. Because of the terrain, linking towns
is far from easy. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
“pueblo blanco” or white towns are just that; usually they are on
a rise in the plain and resemble piles of scattered newspapers when
seen across the bare orange-brown earth as a tumbling pile of white
sheets piled on top of each other. They also resemble a giant version
of the rubbish tips that surround them, where the entire rubbish of
the town is dumped on the plain outside the villages and lift to rot,
which it doesn't do. There are always heaps of old tyres, abandoned
vehicle dumps and so on adorning the outskirts of every town. Where
does the third world end and the second world begin? Yet within the
town the streets are generally well maintained and clean. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Beyond
Bobadilla the scenery changes dramatically, the flat empty plains
being replaced by endless hectares of olives with refineries
scattered on the plains, and vineyards also began to appear. The
train climbed steadily into the mountains with steep bends on the
narrow single track. Sheep and cattle started to be seen, rocks and
crags with goats, and beyond the mountains rising black in the
distance against the dark rain soaked sky. Ian says that this is the
wettest area in Spain, and I'm not in the least surprised. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">At
first the landscape was vaguely like Dartmoor, but where we would
have copses of woodland there were olive trees. Then the limestone
crags and massive rock outcrops changed the nature of the landscape
completely, with huge towering crags and snow-topped mountains on the
horizon.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Eventually
we reached Ronda and we got off the train, which continued to
Algeciras to connect with the ferry for Tangiers. The rain was
falling in torrents and the station some way from the town centre. We
had no idea of our way around and no map. So much for my jokes about
finding a welcome in the hillside as we visited the Ronda Valley. As
we left the station we saw this hotel and hammered on the door. We
are paying 36 euros a night for a huge three-bedded room and very
smart bathroom. We have also got a TV and much needed central
heating. It is all tiled in white marble, the bedroom too, so it
feels as if we are sleeping in a bathroom. Leaving our luggage, we
paddled our way down into town and quickly discovered the most
impressive feature, the bridge across the incredibly steep gorge
linking the old hilltop city with its more recent shopping and
residential area. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwWqGcwSHy5dOyu3Td4FCE21JLTowW0ohdcKgJ1jz0UN82di6x9nET75m0O-B5HCJBSPWcROs70AYc4VbLMe9zOx5XXOQsXWQGzrDEn3VYV5-KGsWBQElJiLEOD_K0n2UeLEcsuznyB71UL_K5dSQbJHt1FdC3LCvrKjy06T_pjFg9aDE-USH/s1280/942-23-Ronda.JPG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwWqGcwSHy5dOyu3Td4FCE21JLTowW0ohdcKgJ1jz0UN82di6x9nET75m0O-B5HCJBSPWcROs70AYc4VbLMe9zOx5XXOQsXWQGzrDEn3VYV5-KGsWBQElJiLEOD_K0n2UeLEcsuznyB71UL_K5dSQbJHt1FdC3LCvrKjy06T_pjFg9aDE-USH/s320/942-23-Ronda.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The bridge at Ronda</span></i></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTx1W2SS1KbO0mOeUNAd5NbG1e5AVscJJFgUsXFrPgXf7nG5dYHm18OrcAOAQWEm1BwWEEA45fBcLSyC8pLbdUglrAGshhSj7A7XhZOYPiZFQHXEZD5_ZHZJoeG5IE4K3XWtdu9eB3vyKpe2pQNnImNpalBDW9m25ouMCrpG1bJmoHMbMIqEi/s1280/942-22-Ronda.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1280" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTx1W2SS1KbO0mOeUNAd5NbG1e5AVscJJFgUsXFrPgXf7nG5dYHm18OrcAOAQWEm1BwWEEA45fBcLSyC8pLbdUglrAGshhSj7A7XhZOYPiZFQHXEZD5_ZHZJoeG5IE4K3XWtdu9eB3vyKpe2pQNnImNpalBDW9m25ouMCrpG1bJmoHMbMIqEi/s320/942-22-Ronda.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><i>View from the bridge at Ronda</i></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><span>We clambered way down a rocky path on one side of the bridge to the remains of the old Moorish curtain wall defending the ancient city. Here there was an amazing view of the high bridge across the gorge, the yellow sandstone cliffs and the white town at the top, the Parador clinging to the clifftop. Ernest Hemingway gives horrific accounts of people being hurled to their death from the bridge in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><i><span>For whom the bell tolls</span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><span>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p align="justify" class="western" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span>Unfortunately the streets simply become rivers in the wet, and it has not stopped raining all day. Water falls from rain pipes balconies and gutters directly onto the pavements. Cars splash into gutters and muddy puddles, spraying water onto the narrow, uneven pavements. It is impossible not to be soaked through. I've used my hair dryer this evening to individually dry out the inside of each of our shoes. We wandered the streets of the old town, very like Córdoba but on a generally smaller scale, with pretty squares and gateways giving glimpses of flowering or fruiting greenery in courtyards or patios. There are a few palms here but down in the gorge and out across the plain where the bursting river rushed deciduous trees showed their yellow and scarlet leaves of autumn. It reminded me slightly of Château-Chalon near Lons-le-Saunier in the Jura, but on a far bigger scale. The views down from here were onto olive groves covering the plane rather than vineyards. We have seen evidence of viticulture around here, but only a few small pockets of land turned over to vines. Houses are crammed together up in the hilltop town. Below and on the plain are very a few scattered farmsteads or dilapidated ruins, but generally the open land is deserted. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span><span><span>Ronda stands at about 739 meters above sea level, that's about 2,250 feet. We can see snow on the mountaintops around.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6oQm8PLWuSvyvqRGoNT3YcZoTUxaqx0A_uvHvoO0GGcCPp3-zznEjWOIK9m6SQNuwYnW0I5BH8QaTQCOzXtZmAIP6i-Q1J4j3jobXtxrLEzg9wVTljuR472vRX8MsQj4Iay6EEUdcPLW7zDAEnv4fBRr9gCnbL-dTUGqczjRAPq72iBQJCtYL/s1280/942-24-Ronda.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6oQm8PLWuSvyvqRGoNT3YcZoTUxaqx0A_uvHvoO0GGcCPp3-zznEjWOIK9m6SQNuwYnW0I5BH8QaTQCOzXtZmAIP6i-Q1J4j3jobXtxrLEzg9wVTljuR472vRX8MsQj4Iay6EEUdcPLW7zDAEnv4fBRr9gCnbL-dTUGqczjRAPq72iBQJCtYL/s320/942-24-Ronda.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the bridge at Ronda</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sUDYlrhp9lx90daFtfbTAeIho3nnt-4Utjso_mL41dxe_x_SVCRpAUYdvoSxTdO5oy0SK0SG7shzwnnYyMnnT-BjitIjDV-KWmIZkSe1YLo-YdUy8uBRB8aQrzNOLRjDkat3j3z138_fMCwN8CfAG2oj9pXgAOeBOlj3qP40sdClgNEob9_A/s1280/942-25-Ronda.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="849" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sUDYlrhp9lx90daFtfbTAeIho3nnt-4Utjso_mL41dxe_x_SVCRpAUYdvoSxTdO5oy0SK0SG7shzwnnYyMnnT-BjitIjDV-KWmIZkSe1YLo-YdUy8uBRB8aQrzNOLRjDkat3j3z138_fMCwN8CfAG2oj9pXgAOeBOlj3qP40sdClgNEob9_A/s320/942-25-Ronda.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>View into the gorge at Ronda</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtR_aQRy6YYQhNxx1_9F7viQT2XOUtAnBg03oKDaSoQ5VLCOVbdLz-gqHWryrEtdOW4ow_CZcY8WVccqcEEO22ldC-G3BXpbPDgaVN3ECmDgrebkX8RDEHnJnBH6t9bPmGRAPXCzf82yZ7NIgNXQBgkatB6HL-AD4aWPrl39531F25YJMiDMo/s1280/942-26-Ronda.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="841" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtR_aQRy6YYQhNxx1_9F7viQT2XOUtAnBg03oKDaSoQ5VLCOVbdLz-gqHWryrEtdOW4ow_CZcY8WVccqcEEO22ldC-G3BXpbPDgaVN3ECmDgrebkX8RDEHnJnBH6t9bPmGRAPXCzf82yZ7NIgNXQBgkatB6HL-AD4aWPrl39531F25YJMiDMo/s320/942-26-Ronda.JPG" width="210" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>View into the gorge at Ronda</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Cx-Da0ThwGXERtybX12W-6Sj40_F9zZzQKhQ-zqd9FXmYuSEWgB_ZAtbQPlVKsBH6pmi9Ja56uNkm1YsYfOjK0wxqfk-tFFnPybKH21_rpTVCT5OCJKmZeCmBsGvI4TK9vRH9gcxo9d0FhpD2YXc5yL81kaANTT-QO2j1Ftb1zP-7Yax2JzF/s1280/942-27-Ronda.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Cx-Da0ThwGXERtybX12W-6Sj40_F9zZzQKhQ-zqd9FXmYuSEWgB_ZAtbQPlVKsBH6pmi9Ja56uNkm1YsYfOjK0wxqfk-tFFnPybKH21_rpTVCT5OCJKmZeCmBsGvI4TK9vRH9gcxo9d0FhpD2YXc5yL81kaANTT-QO2j1Ftb1zP-7Yax2JzF/s320/942-27-Ronda.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>View up to the bridge at Ronda</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhRJro1jU3-NGxKTFDEtu4O8jDPzlZtO7aqoBljDXOnSSEc3XB0sdnYUGQc0o6Bu7Ac-dKgw8RqwCiRral1OV-GTKHl1uUUsWOu8dH2AivADG_k5YS8HjKu812Gwbp7ZuLuChAWN3Jxu71UYTaKiFkGrAYZE5UftqH8e-OFal3GRWeX178IQb/s1280/942-28-Ronda.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhRJro1jU3-NGxKTFDEtu4O8jDPzlZtO7aqoBljDXOnSSEc3XB0sdnYUGQc0o6Bu7Ac-dKgw8RqwCiRral1OV-GTKHl1uUUsWOu8dH2AivADG_k5YS8HjKu812Gwbp7ZuLuChAWN3Jxu71UYTaKiFkGrAYZE5UftqH8e-OFal3GRWeX178IQb/s320/942-28-Ronda.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Courtyard in the old town, Ronda</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
discovered some superb Arab baths down below on the other side of the
bridge further down river. This used to be the entrance that to the
town, and the baths were a social meeting point around the tenth
century. With hot, cold and warm rooms, they worked a bit like the
Roman ones but generally there was no immersion except in the cold
baths. They were more like steam saunas. They were wonderfully
complete, with vaulted roofs set with geometric shapes to allow light
to enter. These are probably the most intact Arab baths in Spain and
well worth the clamber down the steep stepped path which we shared
with the waterfall of waste water from the town that became a river
as we neared the bottom. Drains, where they exist, have become
clogged by the thick autumn leaves of the walnut trees and other figtree
shaped leaves that I didn't recognize. So the water has nowhere else
to go downhill except along the cobbled streets. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Back
in the town we found a cake shop and café, and drank a hot tea with a
tuna and tomato flan - the only savoury things you can buy in
Andalucia are ham and cheese or tuna and tomato. We continued our
exploration of the town by visiting the local museum with everything
from geological specimens, evidence of early settlement, examples of
sword manufacture and Muslim tombstones and graves. The building
itself is interesting and very Spanish in style, being built around a selection of
three sided courtyards the fourth side dropping vertically to the
plain below before, affording stunning views from the terraces where,
even today, the fountains played and water trickled through canals
between the stones. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Although
the plains all appear so arid, there are vast underground caverns in
this limestone area so there is a permanently high water table to
supply the needs of the scattered towns and villages, the olive
groves and presumably the tourist resorts on the Costa del Sol. All
day we have been inundated by water; never have we had so much
flowing water either from nature or design. It began to sound strange
in the very few moments when we were actually out of the sound of
fountains, bursting rivers, flowing gutters and down pipes or simply
hammering raindrops. So it was a very interesting and enjoyable day,
if somewhat cold and wet, but that's us on holiday. Padua in 1998 was
even wetter, I think. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
English newspaper we picked up in the tourist office says Málaga had
a tornado on Wednesday and flooding brought chaos to the city centre.
Maybe it washed away some of the domestic debris from the enormous
dry torrento Ian and I scrambled along on our visit to the botanical
gardens; it doesn't seem possible it could actually flood. As I said,
the hostel there is just beneath the huge dam; we wonder if it will
still be there when we return on Monday. We bought wine and meagre
fare - frankfurters again - and pre-wrapped American bread rolls, no
other choice, and returned to our room where we decided it was too
wet to go looking for an evening meal so drank all the wine and ate
peanuts and cold hot dogs while watching Spanish TV. They have
similar adverts to ours and an excellent nature program on the lives
of los crocodillos. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian
as usual is obsessed with maps. Our luggage gets steadily heavier as
the accumulates them. Our train journey has a running commentary
about every village we are passing and every bend in the track. He
has been wondering why so many places are called [Something] de la
Frontera. We have discovered that they mark the limit to which the Arabs were
forced back from their previous occupation of almost all of Spain
except Asturias. This would have been around 1400. Ronda was captured
in 1485 and the Moors finally surrendered to Ferdinand and Isabella
in Granada in 1492. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">The
Spanish police here look quite intimidating with the amount of
hardware they have slung around their belts. Standard issue includes
a gun, a huge cosh, a pair of handcuffs and a mobile phone. “Don't
mess with us” is their obvious message. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p></div>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-83808303663626041112023-08-26T15:03:00.002+01:002023-08-26T15:06:19.003+01:00The rain in Spain 2004. Downpour 1: Malaga and Granada<p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thursday
25 November 2004, Residencia Universitaria Jacinto Benavente, Avenida
Jacinto Benavente 24, Málaga.</span></b></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">As
can be surmised from the address, we are now staying in a student
hostel for the University of Málaga. We are old enough to be the
parents of the people running the place, let alone the students. I
found it on the internet and it is fine, though probably far too
basic for most of our contemporaries.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
met Ian at the bus station in Exeter and, with our two small bags, we
took the bus to the airport. Check-in was a dream and we were taken
without any bother or delays to Málaga, passing over Brittany where
we were able to look down on the Baie de Morbihan with its plethora
of little islands. We saw the Presqu’ile de Quiberon, where we
bought tins of fish soup when we were there with Wotan, our trusty
Volvo, and looked down on Belle Isle beyond Quiberon. We have Brittany on
our list of "must dos" with Modestine, but this was a foretaste. The
area looked most impressive, being able to view it in its entirety
with all the offshore Islands. We passed on across the Bay of Biscay
and across Spain, passing over the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada
with their white capped mountain peaks where snow has already fallen.
Generally though, Spain gives the impression of being very barren
with little colour, endless brown scrub with groves of fruit or olive
plantations and bare and inhabited mountainous areas. Little isolated
white houses and hamlets showed clear against the brown landscape as
the sun set and a full moon rose. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
landed in Málaga at dusk around 6:30 local time. For one Euro each
we were taken into town on the local bus, a long drive in what seems
the Spanish rush hour. Quite an experience, and I'm glad I don't have
to do it in Modestine. We asked in Spanish at the bus station for
directions to reach the hostel but as a walk with luggage was
required we took a taxi - why be rich and crusty old folk if you
can't enjoy the odd luxury? </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">The
hostel is at a distance from the centre, in a new area near the music
conservatory and the Garden City, a sports complex with football
pitches. We were made welcome in English and given a very basic room
with twin beds and a shared bathroom. There don't seem to be many
students around at present, however. A walk around the area showed it
to be mainly new residential flats with very little to see and do.
There are palm trees, flowering hibiscus and bougainvillea even in
November. People are friendly and it all feels very safe indeed. We
found a supermarket and bought wine and peanuts, and made our way
back across the bridge over the totally dry and rocky torrento. After
a glass or so we went down to the students’ café area and joined
them for supper. Five Euros (about £3.50 each) bought us pork chops,
chips and spinach with a glass of water,. hardly the best of Spanish
cooking but atmospheric, eating with the students. The room is 16
Euros a night, that's to say about £5.60 each, with a free breakfast
included.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><b>Friday
26th November 2004, Málaga</b></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Just
to clear up the above point, tonight we asked to book for a further
two nights and were charged 16 Euros each a night, rather than per
room, so we have got a real bargain for yesterday, and today the
realistic cost is closer to £11.00 each, which is still good value. We
took breakfast here this morning, no more than a roll, a glass of
quite nice coffee with jam, butter etc., but pretty good for free. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Then
we took the bus down into Málaga (85 cents each), and spent the
entire day exploring the town on foot. We are exhausted and footsore
this evening but most of Málaga has been well and truly done.
Generally it's a very pleasant town of about 520,000 inhabitants,
fairly low rise and very spread out and still growing. Surrounded by
the sea to the front and the rising Sierra Nevada on all other sides,
it is squashed into the flat plain between, except for the Alcazaba which rises very steeply above the town on the Gibralfaro hill. First
however we visited the covered market, busy and fascinating, with
three main areas. The meat section with skinned rabbits and plucked
chickens hung up with their heads on, trays of brains, dishes of
sheep's heads, still with their eyes following you as you walk past.
Otherwise there were countless stalls of quality meat. Then fish,
every kind imaginable, including dried salted cod, popular in Spain,
octopus, squid and all kinds of shellfish. Everything was displayed
like works of art. Finally the fruit and vegetable market, with
everything beautifully displayed including many fruits we've never
seen before. We bought some tiny Canary bananas, a useful standby
when walking around all day. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Spanish
people are very nice and friendly, and they are also amazingly small.
We seem to tower above them and they seem quite stocky and several
inches shorter than is normal for their width, except the young
señoritas who are beautiful and perfectly formed, but seem to change
suddenly to become sturdy matrons who even in Málaga go shopping in
their aprons. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
followed three routes around the city, first taking in the old town
with its narrow passageways, tiny courtyards, beautiful old churches,
tubs of flowering plants and shady corners with palm trees. Then the
route taking in the monuments and historic buildings, such as the
cathedral, the art gallery, the Alcazaba, the port area and the chic
marble-clad shopping centre, pedestrianized with attractive cafés and
terraces at every corner. Finally we enjoyed the walk through the
long parkland down near the harbour, which was like a jungle in </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
city. Buses and cars roared down the roadways on either side but
beneath the banana trees, bougainvillea, flowering hibiscus and
countless other flowering trees and shrubs we were in a cool green
oasis of calm.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span>
</span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
we are grateful for the coolness. It may be the end of November,
but it is still 18 degrees in the evening. When the sun shines, as it
chose to do today, it is really too warm for even a jacket. We walked
along the beach, deserted at this time of year, lined with apartment
blocks all the way along the front, the hills rising steep, brown and
bare into the distance beyond the bay.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Returning
toward the town, we discovered the English cemetery and climbed the
long, steep, winding path up to the old Moorish castle with its
spectacular views down onto the town, the bullring, the port and the
beautiful green foliage of the jungle of palms and bananas we had
wandered through earlier in the day. We made our way to the very top,
only to find the castle was about to close, so we walked down a
deserted, winding road on the far side for a couple of kilometres,
descending through Monterey pines and huge eucalyptus trees in the
cool of the gathering dusk. Around 6:00 p.m. we found ourselves back
in the centre of town on the far side of the road tunnel that cuts
through beneath the Gibralfaro hill and its castle. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia3fIwDnAKivToLWTVXbClrn4ByZ47R65xtZcQ3qKMfgwNU0vbbtA5w_2vyHJMtnTGv6rqjhveI5n8rMblNr1Y3HmU-BYhWODQQMvwpHyU8-_8_YVGI4hxgUZ77R4YHpehlwifzIh2lDShL-_I2fA1qsokBE_tJr_F4RxdQEH86pSFXk8StKLU/s1280/941-19-Malaga.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="823" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia3fIwDnAKivToLWTVXbClrn4ByZ47R65xtZcQ3qKMfgwNU0vbbtA5w_2vyHJMtnTGv6rqjhveI5n8rMblNr1Y3HmU-BYhWODQQMvwpHyU8-_8_YVGI4hxgUZ77R4YHpehlwifzIh2lDShL-_I2fA1qsokBE_tJr_F4RxdQEH86pSFXk8StKLU/s320/941-19-Malaga.jpg" width="206" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Town Hall from the Alcazaba, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</span></i></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2N-r_cWvHv2WArfBamjfUss6TAwX_hDETbCrMEoJ5Aj-5y6leAWU-aSj96BqL3yZGLzZs4EPRfU1BZaosbU5iaaHZQ-xSGTJ_uU2RYVqqUmpPvHpYPDkzvmLRsr8FwXZuJeJ2rrqrDyeXbsFmh519hgAHVCPGt2zPqw5ySGjMat9wlJSM7P7/s1280/941-20-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2N-r_cWvHv2WArfBamjfUss6TAwX_hDETbCrMEoJ5Aj-5y6leAWU-aSj96BqL3yZGLzZs4EPRfU1BZaosbU5iaaHZQ-xSGTJ_uU2RYVqqUmpPvHpYPDkzvmLRsr8FwXZuJeJ2rrqrDyeXbsFmh519hgAHVCPGt2zPqw5ySGjMat9wlJSM7P7/s320/941-20-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bullring and apartments from the Alcazaba, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjvDcb_LIlnLzUb_Ss63nwXXvaze_VM7k4SH4g3ozurC_xXVPbhyeTwv30Jzzy_9QyDOsKACC4Lc_WhnurUwW85z8n11sipVPEwCFrPjiuo3_B-cg7g5R0gp9YKoAKGEpKA2xLsprNxwh7pgfN_1VaTqHjm8P8C4zexUUXK38OQ4ohUOnJ_Zs/s1280/941-21-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjvDcb_LIlnLzUb_Ss63nwXXvaze_VM7k4SH4g3ozurC_xXVPbhyeTwv30Jzzy_9QyDOsKACC4Lc_WhnurUwW85z8n11sipVPEwCFrPjiuo3_B-cg7g5R0gp9YKoAKGEpKA2xLsprNxwh7pgfN_1VaTqHjm8P8C4zexUUXK38OQ4ohUOnJ_Zs/s320/941-21-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View toward the port from the Alcazaba, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By
now night had fallen so we made our way to the Museum of Picasso
where we spent a couple of hours trying to convince ourselves, not
all together successfully, that Picasso was not laughing up his
sleeve at everyone by churning out scribbled pencil drawings worthy
of any kids’ playgroup, and calling it art. His early works had
interesting blends of colour and very passable portraits, but he
obviously had a very weird thing about women. His treatment of them
struck me as both insulting and obscene. His abstract material is
very acceptable, but being abstract with the female body the way he
was, to me was downright sickening. I know nothing of his personal
life, but he must have been obsessed with women and hated them, both
at the same time and in equal measure. As he got older he became even
worse in his attitude and then, in his 70s, he started producing
whole series of infantile pencil drawings. It was as if he realized
he could con the world into accepting anything he did as art and
wanted to prove how stupid and gullible we all were. [More of Jill’s
ranting edited out, ending …] </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">□
□</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
balls to Picasso!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">During
the day we also explored the bus station and railway station,
gathering details of where we could get to by public transport from
here. We stopped for lunch, paella and a beer, not a good move. The
meal was OK but nothing special, but we were ripped off and grossly
overcharged. Oh well, win some lose some, I suppose.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">The
torrento is shown on the map as a huge river running through the
city. It has imposing bridges but is just a dry river bed full of the
city's rubbish. Maybe it does flood sometimes but it seems that water
needed for the town is held back in a series of reservoirs up in the
hills behind the town and there is nothing left to flow on down. Can
the demand for water always be met, I wonder? The dam is just above
the hostel, so if it were breached this will be one of the very first
places to be washed away.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><b>Saturday
27 November 2004</b></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">I'm
beginning to get a little fed up with student food. It's cheap and
convenient but we seem to have chips with everything. Tonight we had
hamburgers and tomato sauce in white bread rolls and a plate of chips
followed by a horrid chemical strawberry yogurt. Still they did let
us use the internet for free while we ate it, which meant we didn't
really notice the food as we were too busy working out the Spanish
internet commands and keyboard to notice what we ate. We sent a
message to Neil and Kate, telling them that the Costa del Sol has
more to offer than we'd ever imagined. This morning we ate in our
room as breakfast at weekends was not served until 10 a.m. By 9 a.m. we were heading into town on the bus. Unfortunately we saw through
the window a poor man who had been run over, lying in the middle of
the road. We have no idea how badly injured he was.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">At
10 a.m. we boarded the bus and travelled along the coastal route
through Torremolinos and Fuengirola to Marbella. It was astonishing,
a veritable Little Britain. Everyone looked and sounded English, all
the signs were in English, with Irish pubs streaming the latest UK
football matches, estate agents galore trying to sell real estate to
the Brits, and apartments to let by the thousand. There were hundreds
and hundreds of flats and villas for sale, most well constructed and
attractive, lining the route beside the coast road all the way to
Algeciras and Cadiz. The Costa del Sol is a narrow strip of land
crammed full of rendered, colour-washed luxury flats squashed in
between the sea and the bare, grey, magnificent mountains which rise
up immediately behind the resorts and provide superb and impressive
views behind the crowded seaside towns. They are well laid out,
spotlessly clean, full of beautiful flowering trees and shrubs, the
streets lined by acacias and orange trees. We did try an orange but
it was too sharp and bitter to eat; I think they normally stay on the
tree over the winter to be gathered next May.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">At
Marbella we left the bus at the terminus above the town and walked
down to the town centre. At the market we bought a couple of tapas
from a Turkish store and ate them as we wandered about the old town.
The old town of Marbella is quite rightly listed as one of the main
attractions of southern Spain. Every house front is whitewashed and
spotlessly clean. The narrow passageways between them are paved in
Spanish marble tiles, frequently laid in patterns. Each tiny road,
too narrow for a vehicle to penetrate, is lined by huge tubs filled
with climbing plants that cover the housefronts with green flowering
foliage, adding to the cool shade provided by the walls in the height
of summer. The plants are all beautifully tended and the alleys
permanently swept clean of dust. All these little streets of pretty
residential homes lead into countless tiny courtyards or out onto the
parvis in front of a little church, again paved in marble with a
fountain playing and seats scattered around, sheltered from the sun
by tall spreading date palms. Everywhere the</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mudejar
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">influence
oozes onto a very old Spanish town centre. Today was perfect
weather-wise for wandering the streets of old Marbella, the chic
seafront with its marina and smart cafes and the long boulevards of
modern quality stores, enticing you to window shop. It was frequently
too warm for our jackets and, sitting on the beach in t-shirts in
late November, we enjoyed warmer weather than we did in Cornwall last
August. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Inland
slightly from the sea front but away from the old town we discovered
a delightful park laid out entirely with marble tiled walkways
between beds of flowering bright scarlet and purple shrubs, orange
trees groaning with fruit, acacias and wisterias with their pretty
white flowers - so many plants in bloom and so many beautifully
shaped and tended green trees and shrubs. Benches were placed near
permanently playing fountains so everywhere was the sound of running
water. Both the benches and fountains were covered in bright Spanish
tiles with geometric designs, looking very Moorish in style. We found
a little café in the park, blending with its surroundings with its
heavy Spanish tiled roof, yellow rendered walls, keyhole-shaped arch
entrance and Moorish tiles. We sat outside amid the palm trees,
listening to the sound of water, soaking up the afternoon sunshine
and enjoying a perfect cup of strong coffee.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I'm
so glad we went to Marbella. It has destroyed my prejudices against
the south of Spain. I think I would hate to live here, but there are
a good 300,000 at least British expats who disagree with me. It is
certainly a pretty clean, warm, attractive place to be in winter, but
I don't know that there's a lot to do unless you go for yachting,
golf, posing on the beach - empty today except for us eating our
banana butties and paddling. There would be no difficulty in finding
a flat to rent, or you could simply wait until tea time by when they
would probably have built you one to buy - properties are being
constructed along the seafront so quickly. Indeed, one massive hill
behind the town has completely disappeared beneath the blocks of
flats constructed on it its side, providing natural terracing to
ensure all properties enjoyed a balcony and a view of the
Mediterranean. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
returned on the coach at 4 p.m., dozing much of the way, to the busy
streets of Málaga, thronged with people just strolling and staring
at the living statues that moved every time they were thrown a little
money by the delighted children. In the square in front of the
cathedral we noticed that the Renaissance Bishop’s Palace was open
with a free exhibition of religious art, </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tota
Pulchra</span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the declaration of the dogma
of the immaculate conception by Pope Pius IX in 1854. The images of
Mary on display dated from before then, 16th to early 19th century,
and were laid out in modernised rooms around the original courtyard
of the palace. Most were anonymous and a large number came from
Antequera, paintings, statues, illustrations in books and manuscripts
of Mary standing on a crescent moon, often with the devil below her
holding an apple in his mouth and, in the paintings, surrounded by
mischievous cherubs. There were also some unusual images of Mary with
her parents, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, including one with the
Virgin and Child on the lap of Saint Anne. We made our way back to
the Alameda Principal where we found our no. 2 bus waiting to carry
us back to the hostel. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Sunday
28 November Málaga. </b></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Another
warm, not to say hot, day.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>
</span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Before
breakfast we walked up to the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Jardín
Botánico La Concepción, a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cross
a couple of motorways and rubbish ridden patches of waste land.
Needless to say, on arriving it was cerrado until 10 a.m. So we ended
up clambering down below the vast dam supplying Málaga with all its
water requirements and scrambling along the bed of the wide dry
rock-strewn torrento that eventually ends up in the centre of the
city. This struck us as the quickest way back to our hostel. Having
scrambled under the two motorways, we followed a dusty overgrown
trackway through a waste land passing odd shoes, dolls heads, broken
bike parts, old mattresses, bits of chairs, old plastic bottles and
other assorted rubbish to exit onto the Calle de Benjamin Britten,
lined by blocks of flats, broken cars and copulating dogs. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
returned to our hostel for breakfast and, revived by coffee and jam
rolls, we repeated the experience in reverse, and spent a superb
morning exploring the historical botanic gardens, filled with
specimens from around the Mediterranean and the Antipodes. It was a
cool jungle of ferns, palms, dragon trees, pines, plants you see in
garden centres, but ten times bigger growing in the open and
frequently in flower. I never realized that most of them actually
produced flowers yet many such as Swiss cheese plant even produced
edible fruits, which is why its Latin name is </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">monstera
deliciosa</span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
It was well worth a visit and we learned so much. It was beautiful
and cool with views up to the hills behind and down to the town and
the sea in front. We even saw several dragon trees like those we saw
in Tenerife. Trees I have been calling acacias I have now discovered
are actually jacarandas with pretty purple flowers, delicate leaves
and seed pods that resemble shell-shaped purses. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWhETn3win2HH5yUwqEZibMIDG3oi9vvoTnVt8ViUzpyQCAhk-tnGoXXfPKpRIJCLE12-LuSj4JfPCe90RIAqodwCYOXMnWd6LFnlgE08kq9tduFh2GdDDGuo-9Z9jIQbeN6Dm6kTU7RIhUQYWJtU_FenE54IeCs3iW47hfk8jRYcvgPMuDa7/s1280/941-22-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWhETn3win2HH5yUwqEZibMIDG3oi9vvoTnVt8ViUzpyQCAhk-tnGoXXfPKpRIJCLE12-LuSj4JfPCe90RIAqodwCYOXMnWd6LFnlgE08kq9tduFh2GdDDGuo-9Z9jIQbeN6Dm6kTU7RIhUQYWJtU_FenE54IeCs3iW47hfk8jRYcvgPMuDa7/s320/941-22-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-size: medium; letter-spacing: normal;"><i>Plaza in M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_EhHZTtxgizgPFpk-imlsNcV6enJ86-Vp41449lyaR1turdwz1VmxP4eZVgFVfEWY1oTuilnv7ezXuvtmDXFraJ_m_O9DSU5ICkDKkFq937yae1b4ZGy4cY3jWy7SD7GoBBl8LT3MYYEX7O41YhbGJo0V4CU1bI5TrlaPISV6xMLlZowVb5w/s1280/941-23-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_EhHZTtxgizgPFpk-imlsNcV6enJ86-Vp41449lyaR1turdwz1VmxP4eZVgFVfEWY1oTuilnv7ezXuvtmDXFraJ_m_O9DSU5ICkDKkFq937yae1b4ZGy4cY3jWy7SD7GoBBl8LT3MYYEX7O41YhbGJo0V4CU1bI5TrlaPISV6xMLlZowVb5w/s320/941-23-Malaga.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto-Medium" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #464646; line-height: 32px; text-align: left;"><i>Jardín Botánico de La Concepción, M</i><i>á</i><i>laga</i></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJu1_mrWHcHUY7diDLXF3aN8nJVu1WJVeaZkiNlPDhSblEY_b1sbB5rCPj7yWrzr_mVgAlvfy0tHNVU1FoJLvL0N9CIBRcHIp3-TTG9di4mdpApudzmcZ2uoZfyiDD8p7lGyyS6HeIQxe1PRrqE9wAtCT1KFZBGT6Ve4NOekoBjMKiW-poKm4A/s1280/941-24-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJu1_mrWHcHUY7diDLXF3aN8nJVu1WJVeaZkiNlPDhSblEY_b1sbB5rCPj7yWrzr_mVgAlvfy0tHNVU1FoJLvL0N9CIBRcHIp3-TTG9di4mdpApudzmcZ2uoZfyiDD8p7lGyyS6HeIQxe1PRrqE9wAtCT1KFZBGT6Ve4NOekoBjMKiW-poKm4A/s320/941-24-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Paseo del Parque<span face="Roboto-Medium" style="color: #464646; text-align: left;">, M</span><span face="Roboto-Medium" style="color: #464646; text-align: left;">á</span><span face="Roboto-Medium" style="color: #464646; text-align: left;">laga</span></i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Around 1:30 p.m. we
caught the hourly bus down into town. On the way we saw a Sunday
market, heaving with people, so jumped off the bus to investigate.
Big mistake - Spanish markets are mega mega boring, unlike like those
in France or Greece or even Exeter. How can the entire population of
Málaga get switched on by really naff clothes? They fought and
struggled through between endless stalls of knickers, aprons,
ponchos, tight jeans, suede jackets, curtain materials, socks and
cheap-looking jumpers. It took half an hour of fighting
claustrophobia before we managed to edge into a side alley full of
second hand CDs and bric-à-brac. Even this was fairly boring, unless
you wanted a heavy framed religious picture to hang in your home or a
pewter fruit dish, or some outmoded carpentry tools, or an electric
circuit for something or other. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
ended up in a very poor part of Málaga, full of run-down housing,
flats, closed boarded-up shop fronts, grubby streets, unfinished
building work and frequently no pavements. Eventually however we
found the main area of the town and sat in a square, the Plaza de la
Merced, to eat our banana butties and drink our water, pestered by
pigeons. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
then made our way to the truly wonderful Alcazaba.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>
On </span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sunday
afternoons entrance is free but is only 1.80 euro anyway, a superb bargain.
It is a 10th century structure with wonderful walls built up the
hillside, and with a fairly recently discovered Roman theatre at the
base. Set in peaceful gardens with flowing water, it may have been
built for defence but it is a place of sheer beauty with wonderful
views down over the town and the port. It is very Moorish in style,
with orange trees, jacarandas and palms superbly displayed against
ancient walls, shady corners and ceramic displays. It is absolutely
superb, giving a great sense of the culture of early Arab
civilization. This was a stroll through peaceful gardens that just
happened to be a fortified Arab defence. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">We then, gluttons for
punishment, repeated our climb of Friday, winding steeply up behind
the curtain wall between the alcazaba and the higher Gibralfaro
(gibral means rock in Arabic and pharo means light in Greek). We are
obviously getting hardened because we found it easier than our visit
on Friday, even passing folk half our age struggling up. On Sunday
afternoon the Alcazaba was also free but even at 1.80 euros it was an
absolute bargain. We wandered along the narrow ancient walls, looking
down on the town, the port, the bullring, the beautiful gardens and
even the ancient walls of the old Alcazaba. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMB_R74e6nGjWlGnihDntW0tnT6E4vxxwwto6ntph6JfTRRrZ5Hd6qDgkm9fpO9dRtsRrte-xj5bOmpEhbcLTm1F1VpwzUsaed0bsd3Na-TXnBYjfubDiYVh4vJbDarZajBhCcN4URIZ58_XYPfSnMxqZNSRncCrDoJl9JxtTj7mDg7ltggtv9/s1280/941-25-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMB_R74e6nGjWlGnihDntW0tnT6E4vxxwwto6ntph6JfTRRrZ5Hd6qDgkm9fpO9dRtsRrte-xj5bOmpEhbcLTm1F1VpwzUsaed0bsd3Na-TXnBYjfubDiYVh4vJbDarZajBhCcN4URIZ58_XYPfSnMxqZNSRncCrDoJl9JxtTj7mDg7ltggtv9/s320/941-25-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-size: medium; letter-spacing: normal;"><i>Walls of the Alaczaba, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-size: medium; letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJlDCmk8GFChPcRclVTHKU83XcHA_Ahl7a7TsAPZiDLoYLjr6Qc3pHT6w1NE2DMTpzG1FInueU-0FUK4-jq4Eq8jwzRHPHeGGKUGrZqYqkpQsr0awyfYvDvQgi5-JnaE_TIMK2R_8Ektie-YXGCLNKaiWsL6zrNWghFnTp1ISPQU4a34bG_8cr/s1280/941-26-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="837" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJlDCmk8GFChPcRclVTHKU83XcHA_Ahl7a7TsAPZiDLoYLjr6Qc3pHT6w1NE2DMTpzG1FInueU-0FUK4-jq4Eq8jwzRHPHeGGKUGrZqYqkpQsr0awyfYvDvQgi5-JnaE_TIMK2R_8Ektie-YXGCLNKaiWsL6zrNWghFnTp1ISPQU4a34bG_8cr/s320/941-26-Malaga.JPG" width="209" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the Alaczaba, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYTXXsDbQ6-p9HzaMpjfjbg-kVF9CjHxF_eavFu_QwcmljkJuW7XBRqmQXxYeA4L7ncIOrGt91pz94ELoZfHAuJtp9iwEMbkAcZsOH6HfuRzGQDXXuEgjdN_ToXDVv2DYBTpLfWaaDbHuAFvHC9dQF5wUTf4arpxXWOfUQhJdwY340qjRqZ4W/s1280/941-27-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYTXXsDbQ6-p9HzaMpjfjbg-kVF9CjHxF_eavFu_QwcmljkJuW7XBRqmQXxYeA4L7ncIOrGt91pz94ELoZfHAuJtp9iwEMbkAcZsOH6HfuRzGQDXXuEgjdN_ToXDVv2DYBTpLfWaaDbHuAFvHC9dQF5wUTf4arpxXWOfUQhJdwY340qjRqZ4W/s320/941-27-Malaga.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Courtyard of the Alcazaba, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3iBV8d8P_KcGqAHKWwS5xBgT_c9ZKh135nQs-SbZmSfwplNnV84hnbFEwWJhAyR2j_Y3BwgqWylyMCLzGeFDafF3wG5hKUDXKr6WYwNNaeV6AZBnuDm4CZRyY6bqSpxpwyP_GhKRUO_1waub0gw5IRRZUfO4duYmM2-2gdXd4a_Y0XTo1Xrk/s1280/941-28-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="817" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3iBV8d8P_KcGqAHKWwS5xBgT_c9ZKh135nQs-SbZmSfwplNnV84hnbFEwWJhAyR2j_Y3BwgqWylyMCLzGeFDafF3wG5hKUDXKr6WYwNNaeV6AZBnuDm4CZRyY6bqSpxpwyP_GhKRUO_1waub0gw5IRRZUfO4duYmM2-2gdXd4a_Y0XTo1Xrk/s320/941-28-Malaga.JPG" width="204" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Courtyard of the Alcazaba, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div><span style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>The Gibralfaro is even older than the Alcazaba, dating from the 8th century, although mainly 14th century rebuilds. There is a café at the very top where we relaxed with coffee, listening to Spanish guitar playing beneath shadowy palm trees surrounded by beds of flowering shrubs and the ancient ramparts of the beautiful Moorish castle below.</span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6NFIDXDRrX16sVqp91BchNMZTkerbskOD9iNFyYzTnsKkvbeaO6fVGcP51vzOKq0A2-e37n0YWTEy7ugSG8zk1JhbSSJVpLxIKOkxFrtzZnXtkaTJ2iY8rQspZr2stblwoj5tFxzrOz51EFmjH5XkdMcvfoQ2acOZ0Gl2QG9En8_DMe7_EzP/s3862/941-34-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2501" data-original-width="3862" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6NFIDXDRrX16sVqp91BchNMZTkerbskOD9iNFyYzTnsKkvbeaO6fVGcP51vzOKq0A2-e37n0YWTEy7ugSG8zk1JhbSSJVpLxIKOkxFrtzZnXtkaTJ2iY8rQspZr2stblwoj5tFxzrOz51EFmjH5XkdMcvfoQ2acOZ0Gl2QG9En8_DMe7_EzP/s320/941-34-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the Gibralfaro, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhha9CH6RqqMnmkGGuG1RiRSPbVIJTYg_E1GmgUMfEYoPg48MpVltIFLD6fQgtHOrAMcjuviMFaBwxsCZAavh9xxRXs1kfR-hBcWrhyk7pO6VgCit6ZW5FOK8DFFFxXD8AcThUVBn_9bVlU2ICArFyzBbyRp6Pc5NRg3y2LvQ42tt8Yt1KqACkY/s1280/941-33-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1280" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhha9CH6RqqMnmkGGuG1RiRSPbVIJTYg_E1GmgUMfEYoPg48MpVltIFLD6fQgtHOrAMcjuviMFaBwxsCZAavh9xxRXs1kfR-hBcWrhyk7pO6VgCit6ZW5FOK8DFFFxXD8AcThUVBn_9bVlU2ICArFyzBbyRp6Pc5NRg3y2LvQ42tt8Yt1KqACkY/s320/941-33-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Relaxing at the Gibralfaro, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxF_LcRa0FdD9AXNc85z2M75Z7b7x1wtA2CdQFtRWgDEARF_vqXi-ATHVA58rn4600A-OzgnWlAj9pGYO-v_DWKvgR9bdtiOcshQTJq_kXDujOikM5n39BmadRiSR6gdabxPRSVecaPiSA2XxcVDKsiKXjyZexS_c_XzUlWZ9c7jaTQ1bON_-F/s1107/941-35-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="830" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxF_LcRa0FdD9AXNc85z2M75Z7b7x1wtA2CdQFtRWgDEARF_vqXi-ATHVA58rn4600A-OzgnWlAj9pGYO-v_DWKvgR9bdtiOcshQTJq_kXDujOikM5n39BmadRiSR6gdabxPRSVecaPiSA2XxcVDKsiKXjyZexS_c_XzUlWZ9c7jaTQ1bON_-F/s320/941-35-Malaga.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Relaxing at the Gibralfaro, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNuetS1R4nOs0KDXgVnogXMBQe8ElQtvX1QyS5Yaf8PRSvCidw8hqD4hNsTL14fjKXGy_OUysbb3cyp5eP_UpKbqNcPXX-GF13Fj6OZZV_CsPqdzg_4RPcYZ2ld2UQupMbWpsiE7vpJhlsudWLGz7Kf_UWaMqMes0MzIyGIwzeRyP0xRzJljP/s1280/941-32-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="1280" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNuetS1R4nOs0KDXgVnogXMBQe8ElQtvX1QyS5Yaf8PRSvCidw8hqD4hNsTL14fjKXGy_OUysbb3cyp5eP_UpKbqNcPXX-GF13Fj6OZZV_CsPqdzg_4RPcYZ2ld2UQupMbWpsiE7vpJhlsudWLGz7Kf_UWaMqMes0MzIyGIwzeRyP0xRzJljP/s320/941-32-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The bullring from the Gibralfaro, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYeShmxgOXFCgSPclfBl3qQv0wL60IcQXzYmNwAZ_vDMnoxY1qQXi8_jMiKcr2Q5pxX1gBAXWBZCYjWVPkidNwwMmFVCT0ENGqeJquMHcImKEB6YYE7o2fip8x8mT7UvsMeb0ucqPtj8xO2p3PcdXMtskg0pbpKujR4Vb_tGK7bWosH1133X5s/s1280/941-31-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1280" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYeShmxgOXFCgSPclfBl3qQv0wL60IcQXzYmNwAZ_vDMnoxY1qQXi8_jMiKcr2Q5pxX1gBAXWBZCYjWVPkidNwwMmFVCT0ENGqeJquMHcImKEB6YYE7o2fip8x8mT7UvsMeb0ucqPtj8xO2p3PcdXMtskg0pbpKujR4Vb_tGK7bWosH1133X5s/s320/941-31-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the Gibralfaro, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5Pe1wS-Sy9oboIOAbR5ifnuIpoexT1Eh0-9OeJd2y6TSpER4kggTp4dBiKCD3VnXu3O7MpZzb8Ncu-lLmi3X1SQ1lAU73Vg8SK9mR4LV2R3VwiCWUwLYg1GB42FDzE4ztHFSHOwDHHA6n5BJNzDYJTdH83aD0kVA0GlhnczN8_bxQG3GnUbd/s1280/941-30-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1280" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5Pe1wS-Sy9oboIOAbR5ifnuIpoexT1Eh0-9OeJd2y6TSpER4kggTp4dBiKCD3VnXu3O7MpZzb8Ncu-lLmi3X1SQ1lAU73Vg8SK9mR4LV2R3VwiCWUwLYg1GB42FDzE4ztHFSHOwDHHA6n5BJNzDYJTdH83aD0kVA0GlhnczN8_bxQG3GnUbd/s320/941-30-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The ramparts of the Gibralfaro, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQwd539l4nQ7IAVAVRntdA4k-1CMuSnYxEgBVtIM0wTTKhIHsUB-sMjkrj5aOTle8mX_69-mph66ryRiq-hXQAvadaFE1hRtvgVRt6NhNQ29LhWJdSMVxWUZ-GGG58gWFfxU_Y0dj70tkaeQbw10BLMolLHiGBf8bNgjEchxGjLucF2Xisd1f/s3806/941-29-Malaga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2490" data-original-width="3806" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQwd539l4nQ7IAVAVRntdA4k-1CMuSnYxEgBVtIM0wTTKhIHsUB-sMjkrj5aOTle8mX_69-mph66ryRiq-hXQAvadaFE1hRtvgVRt6NhNQ29LhWJdSMVxWUZ-GGG58gWFfxU_Y0dj70tkaeQbw10BLMolLHiGBf8bNgjEchxGjLucF2Xisd1f/s320/941-29-Malaga.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the Gibralfaro, M<span style="text-align: justify;">á</span>laga</i></div></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Having
wandered around the sites of Málaga all day, my legs were
now in serious disagreement with each other about which one was going
first. Each deferred to the other and I had to severely chastise them
both in order to struggle down to the town again. By now it was paseo
time, so we wandered the chic pedestrianized area with the smart set
of Málaga for a while. However our legs ganged up against us,
dragging us towards the bus stop, even refusing to accompany us
around the cathedral - we thought we would get in free as there was a
service about to start. Our legs however were set on returning to the
hostel and directed us to the number two bus stop in the Alameda
Principale. Not long after 7:00 p.m. we were home. Two hours were
spent recovering and emptying a wine bottle before supper. However,
it turned out we'd be going hungry tonight because the restaurant
here is closed, despite displaying a menu announcing paella. Oh well,
we have tea bags and a packet of chocolate biscuits so that would
have to do. It's all a bit mañana really as most of what is promised
on the internet is in actual fact not deliverable. Still, it's cheap,
clean and an experience. Tomorrow we move on to Granada, I hope, so
now a shower and bed.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>
</span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Monday
29 November 2004, Granada</b></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">We
kept waking up last night, fearing the we might be too late to catch
the 10:00 a.m. bus to Granada. In the event we had breakfast shortly
after 7:00 and arrived in time to catch the 9:00 bus. There was a slight problem when we were issued with a ticket for seat 56 on a 55
seat coach but fortunately another seat was not taken and we soon
sped along the motorway past the end of the Avenida Jacinta
Benavente, past the Botanic Gardens, then climbing into the mountains
behind Málaga, skirting gorges where there was actually some water
flowing and passing through tunnels to join the motorway from
Seville. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We sped eastward across an arid open plain with rows of
olive trees, wide bare fields and plantations of spindly trees,
perhaps poplars. In the distance were bare rocky mountains, none as
yet with a covering of snow. Within two hours we were in the
outskirts of Granada, a partially developed wasteland, as
unprepossessing as most Spanish towns, and were dumped at the bus
station, a modern building but over two miles from the town centre.
We asked advice at the information kiosk from a very nice
English-speaking lass who not only recommended a hotel but phoned to
book a room for us and explained how to get there. We found it fairly
easily and it is indeed very pleasant, clean and comfortable. We have
a shared bathroom but it doesn't seem to be a problem. It is floored
with Spanish marble tiles which is chilly on bare feet but we also
have room heating and air conditioning. It's 32 Euros a night for the
room without breakfast. Actually the central area is bursting with
hotels but it saved us making a choice. I expect the lady at the bus
station gets a commission, but it is so convenient and helpful. So,
having left our luggage we were free to explore Granada. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Being
2,000 feet higher here than in Málaga, it is, not surprisingly, much
chillier and we were glad of both our fleeces and our waterproof
jackets. It even rained slightly this afternoon. At lunchtime however
it was sufficiently warm for us to sit on a terrace on the Plaza
Nueva with a bocadillo and a coffee each. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
main streets are smart and fashionable, crossing a right angles with
small side streets, partly pedestrianized and crowded at all hours
with shoppers. We have seen virtually no food shops; every other shop
is a pharmacy or a cafeteria. Here this means exactly what it says;
people sit all day drinking coffee and all night drinking beer,
nobody ever seems to eat. Spain is definitely the worst country we
have encountered for restaurants with a pleasant ambience or decent
food. We never see people enjoying a meal together, and when you are
served it is a rapid process with the bill presented far too promptly
at the end of the meal and, apart from paella, what has Spain
contributed to the culinary map of Europe? Oh yes, doughnuts for
breakfast. I have never been to a country where vegetables are so
totally ignored as they are here, yet there always seem excellent
displays in the market halls. Enough of my tirade. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
made our way on foot up the steep hillside to the Alhambra we spent
the rest of the afternoon for ten euros each. Having already
experienced the ultimate in Moorish culture and style at Seville's
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Alcázar</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
we knew what to expect, but it was still very impressive and its
setting high above the town is more dramatic than the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Alcázar</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
There is less use made of those gloriously coloured geometric tiles
and more of the delicate stucco work on the upper walls around the
keyhole-shaped door arches and windows and from the ceilings, high
and dome shaped, where one had the feeling of beautifully arranged
stalagmites suspended over perfectly proportioned rooms. Throughout
our visit we were accompanied by the perpetual sound of water
trickling from fountains into pools or ponds or running in narrow
channels amidst the marble-paved walkways, bubbling down from level
to level. In the heat of summer this would give us a sense of cool
and calm, but this was less necessary on a day when we regretted not
having gloves with us. All rooms opened onto courtyards filled with
beautifully designed gardens, shaded on all sides by covered
walkways, with fountains playing in the centre and wonderful vistas
across to other corners between white marble columns supporting Arab
style stucco archways into the dark interiors. Above loomed the heavy
defensive walls with their protective towers; indeed part of the
charm is the contrast between the red, heavy, square-shaped defensive
exterior and the beautiful, tasteful, magical interior of the royal
quarters of the Palacio Nazaries with its gardens and royal harem,
dating from around the 14th century.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>
</span></span>
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1D0ISlzcKhXd-yQvmEno4ydNCrU4oLeKODRClfIjQgm2Ey84ExqIaGtrLoR_jQQjbPe5TTAP4WaQxHc_MyJ4YCCPbR8O-emN-fpl2K40Wd2Jtwu9FCfpRyyhubQD2IaOrneYufbO9T7ODVhkoeDGcCixOnDrY609yGhLg68Q0THOjt1uK-B_U/s1280/941-36-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1280" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1D0ISlzcKhXd-yQvmEno4ydNCrU4oLeKODRClfIjQgm2Ey84ExqIaGtrLoR_jQQjbPe5TTAP4WaQxHc_MyJ4YCCPbR8O-emN-fpl2K40Wd2Jtwu9FCfpRyyhubQD2IaOrneYufbO9T7ODVhkoeDGcCixOnDrY609yGhLg68Q0THOjt1uK-B_U/s320/941-36-Granada.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-size: medium; letter-spacing: normal;"><i>In the Alhambra, Granada</i></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3iCW29x9aA2rheecFoju7kHpEhS_LNVWXUxLADsl3B2svgOctUQ4fAIfXPhx-0BUSE4pN8QzYWotG0VG-Ku8RYCxSjqXftGD1L7AdxjJGriRsOWHRnLVaK-JVOAR3isBHe2ftxTxlmCU9nSq7fpKymbfrxohmo9-q2TK2-fmHdfo9ST-OlA4/s1280/942-02-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3iCW29x9aA2rheecFoju7kHpEhS_LNVWXUxLADsl3B2svgOctUQ4fAIfXPhx-0BUSE4pN8QzYWotG0VG-Ku8RYCxSjqXftGD1L7AdxjJGriRsOWHRnLVaK-JVOAR3isBHe2ftxTxlmCU9nSq7fpKymbfrxohmo9-q2TK2-fmHdfo9ST-OlA4/s320/942-02-Granada.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>In the Alhambra, Granada</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmD96dLJCsQ4ueQzWH6qjpz-21bzPhXpeI2U_V-Td1G1Qxn9V6-FWU3QQV0u6AvzoMcvHw0pAOaI0FQN6-PDLFRG85gG6vKcyK_8ngPC6R1nJCb7MKvGJbzhJ-mfGqibdD1PgZwI-xDchIHIfXcW0bhtA5dLWQhUyBvy5YAr8sl3sPq3SBqxkH/s1280/942-03-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="836" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmD96dLJCsQ4ueQzWH6qjpz-21bzPhXpeI2U_V-Td1G1Qxn9V6-FWU3QQV0u6AvzoMcvHw0pAOaI0FQN6-PDLFRG85gG6vKcyK_8ngPC6R1nJCb7MKvGJbzhJ-mfGqibdD1PgZwI-xDchIHIfXcW0bhtA5dLWQhUyBvy5YAr8sl3sPq3SBqxkH/s320/942-03-Granada.JPG" width="209" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>In the Alhambra, Granada</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_a2mHrp8QqvFFe7tD4-0mS9qXXO5TWYHquna1NfvB4WkZHtFM-50nWYSxiSJ0AhEqD-jxuBsvv1Peo8mGCiz_Vtfb5bu_Bx07Yajabiny-avSVBYr059fBbbM-CxU5beR9AmoUV_a4RImCkMNlxp0YKFV25D3GVfTzpuKX-i6PBmvBcbklr_/s1280/942-04-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="818" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_a2mHrp8QqvFFe7tD4-0mS9qXXO5TWYHquna1NfvB4WkZHtFM-50nWYSxiSJ0AhEqD-jxuBsvv1Peo8mGCiz_Vtfb5bu_Bx07Yajabiny-avSVBYr059fBbbM-CxU5beR9AmoUV_a4RImCkMNlxp0YKFV25D3GVfTzpuKX-i6PBmvBcbklr_/s320/942-04-Granada.JPG" width="205" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Court of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qkCr2esG76S-zOT7yCvxcNzhLQuzUwti6J80G7i2bWz4ctI7tO1pufYiHmQCd8z_bclWemhe-g-ecgsdWAS54-j6ZjAfaa_vr65pskskB0XEpOyD9PsK0LLwoYxtjEZOQe_gT8FAqYvSVQo0cNSAqaOsrjD1H4wXAiDy8M0wFQovdIxD64Uq/s1280/942-05-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="832" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qkCr2esG76S-zOT7yCvxcNzhLQuzUwti6J80G7i2bWz4ctI7tO1pufYiHmQCd8z_bclWemhe-g-ecgsdWAS54-j6ZjAfaa_vr65pskskB0XEpOyD9PsK0LLwoYxtjEZOQe_gT8FAqYvSVQo0cNSAqaOsrjD1H4wXAiDy8M0wFQovdIxD64Uq/s320/942-05-Granada.JPG" width="208" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View from the Alhambra, Granada</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zhoN7eMVCFya7Mb5m-xNz6yXkGsdZ01d8WY7tOJ6Cc8Ysb1AmfyGbv-jib7200sPt5BvRAaFTuazL1MlqeFJOtxGM43sx7Zkis65HbQCwfgfG_oVWL-P-R_SYxOXjLetktTLe1GHMlbMtZIuqDA7wbyH_bhPmnikEF1sSz58ng99s9XIk2I6/s1280/942-06-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zhoN7eMVCFya7Mb5m-xNz6yXkGsdZ01d8WY7tOJ6Cc8Ysb1AmfyGbv-jib7200sPt5BvRAaFTuazL1MlqeFJOtxGM43sx7Zkis65HbQCwfgfG_oVWL-P-R_SYxOXjLetktTLe1GHMlbMtZIuqDA7wbyH_bhPmnikEF1sSz58ng99s9XIk2I6/s320/942-06-Granada.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Partal Palace, Alhambra, Granada</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Also
of note, but about to close, was the heavy, rather inappropriately
juxtaposed 16th century palace of Charles V. We only had time to
glance in at the entrance. Inside it has a huge circular multi-story
courtyard, the exterior of the heavy building itself being square in
shape. We visited the Alcazaba, built for defence rather than beauty,
which inspires through its size and grandeur with huge square towers
and ramparts. If you struggle to the very top, the views down and
across Granada are stunning, or the least would be were it not for
the ugly yellow industrial haze of a winter's afternoon that lies
across the entire city, trapped between the surrounding peaks of the
barren Sierra Nevada rising black and menacing from the grimy yellow
haze. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
sides of the Alcazaba's main tower drop sheer to the tiny stream
flowing way below amidst the yellowing leaves of the late autumn
trees. Across the valley can be seen all the white walls and heavy
beautiful Spanish roofs of the city with gardens and cypress trees
interspersed between the buildings. There are far fewer palm trees or
even oranges here, although they are still to be found, but plenty of
peach trees, now without leaves but heavy with ripe, velvety, orange
peaches. I have yet to see my first truly native pomegranates. I saw
a tree in Málaga, heavy with red and orange fruit, but here I'm
still searching for a “pomme Grenade”. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Finally
we strolled in the beautiful walled gardens of the Generalife with
lovely beds of roses, salvias, mint, thyme, syringa and neat box
hedges. We wandered shaded avenues of neatly clipped cypresses and
pines, along paved walkways with seats beside the many fountains in
the centre of lily-covered ponds filled with very lucky goldfish
swimming in the crystal clear water. From here we had spectacular
views across to the exterior walls of the Alhambra and up to the
yellow gash at the top of the fog above the town where the black
ships of the surrounding mountains seemed to float. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">We
walked back down to the town beside a fast flowing stream along an
unmetalled path through woodland beneath the castle walls. It was now
raining slightly and nobody else was around. At the bottom we climbed
up into the old town, exploring the gardens of the city archives on
the way. The gardens have cypress and fruit trees inside the heavy
white stone walls, and the building would be the envy of any British
archivist obliged to work in a warehouse on the outskirts of our main
cities. This was a huge beautiful 17th century palace with views of
the Alhambra from the office desk.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYTPACtNnNDzYukv0PxKbh9e2gneZ1NuJPqYHBwcN-Y3dV5PjyqB_90qRFpDdKL2tJMovBNhImHlm0SAxkeuTuaEMCpQ38q31brzeKB7r04_Y-bJqtOy2QCMtuzYi1Fea6Pwk1DdrKmqT01RIclMIPzTgg46GVrqFwg6DVtvzjnrrJxQVOs0k/s1280/942-11-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="826" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYTPACtNnNDzYukv0PxKbh9e2gneZ1NuJPqYHBwcN-Y3dV5PjyqB_90qRFpDdKL2tJMovBNhImHlm0SAxkeuTuaEMCpQ38q31brzeKB7r04_Y-bJqtOy2QCMtuzYi1Fea6Pwk1DdrKmqT01RIclMIPzTgg46GVrqFwg6DVtvzjnrrJxQVOs0k/s320/942-11-Granada.JPG" width="207" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The path down from the Alhambra, Granada</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcS6XS83zQaxZ9KA_gIHiP3a4hec84vACDoGRZRGHco6-KmlCRHGX3rXOIvJasiG-mA3bS8CErmuxAapCX4gcImw6-yexnsaVn_-UEqX_gOBpPvFuN9cK8JksySJ7ihBGs4OdnZhmXBRWvXXn23VbjBGnOJDAmy0WR0fBeNGcIvAsNeO247lb/s1280/942-07-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcS6XS83zQaxZ9KA_gIHiP3a4hec84vACDoGRZRGHco6-KmlCRHGX3rXOIvJasiG-mA3bS8CErmuxAapCX4gcImw6-yexnsaVn_-UEqX_gOBpPvFuN9cK8JksySJ7ihBGs4OdnZhmXBRWvXXn23VbjBGnOJDAmy0WR0fBeNGcIvAsNeO247lb/s320/942-07-Granada.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i style="color: black;">Partal Palace, Alhambra, Granada</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix__Btoim6g5U5QtU_DZ8DqfZfIUC6uJmKy1prS6tVqArfC1i2_fMjD4CgfwKlLLIE6Jnoth3cW4-h_jfncZaGReLgFil0qomlJbCkJl9tGMBzjv5rm79AQ2_10bYojkj1h9M51_qTIILo4_aZdleWPE_yCR89z3zOYm9l_p_7V2DYxOzxziS5/s1280/942-12%20-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix__Btoim6g5U5QtU_DZ8DqfZfIUC6uJmKy1prS6tVqArfC1i2_fMjD4CgfwKlLLIE6Jnoth3cW4-h_jfncZaGReLgFil0qomlJbCkJl9tGMBzjv5rm79AQ2_10bYojkj1h9M51_qTIILo4_aZdleWPE_yCR89z3zOYm9l_p_7V2DYxOzxziS5/s320/942-12%20-Granada.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The gardens of the city archives, Granada</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNk8NnQuoq4eC56cr1B44LS8KgKzZ6xU1wrGfsccxJZ1k-N9lo6HTP9GDnOjrqhd1PVB1-86nWei_2SxbFoO3ucdChxMvxzqegisfUQwXRNB-7HwAXfe26UdSOe6iv0PM_OIM1k4EY9LAvOLNHqQ47YeDwVjjpQ-P60WCrpNRD6Aj0V9o5PQzq/s1280/942-08-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNk8NnQuoq4eC56cr1B44LS8KgKzZ6xU1wrGfsccxJZ1k-N9lo6HTP9GDnOjrqhd1PVB1-86nWei_2SxbFoO3ucdChxMvxzqegisfUQwXRNB-7HwAXfe26UdSOe6iv0PM_OIM1k4EY9LAvOLNHqQ47YeDwVjjpQ-P60WCrpNRD6Aj0V9o5PQzq/s320/942-08-Granada.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Generalife, Granada</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9j704zcXZibLAWZI0_1z6JIuDhtxflIK7AvdWJcEkw0FAKkF8OSAJVnIxs2nw_ZXFNpI8hxnP3-FwS5Dc_WNDpDU_nXhYqfNm2iTT-5UiJLv6DgPQLbvHR40nbZ9_CYyF_AyK8BkvfM-pzNmEEEg1wvhv3KPb6ewmf2wkYZrb1YqfYj99lt4h/s1280/942-09-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9j704zcXZibLAWZI0_1z6JIuDhtxflIK7AvdWJcEkw0FAKkF8OSAJVnIxs2nw_ZXFNpI8hxnP3-FwS5Dc_WNDpDU_nXhYqfNm2iTT-5UiJLv6DgPQLbvHR40nbZ9_CYyF_AyK8BkvfM-pzNmEEEg1wvhv3KPb6ewmf2wkYZrb1YqfYj99lt4h/s320/942-09-Granada.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Generalife gardens, Granada</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAZB0ytELIZshgLNDYB8d9xaocZHl8BZn-nhmtX5tFtxOxDiOfXUdWKiDROj5BkKHXYqpc3xjJdXJCFbUTlTetXA1j1v987lsvxZPyRi2p0LmMYUurVsudd1hanrhjXnUTmxKLk5JrV_LszB0lN_z61i0DQdqLFRV_Sz3y0hme6ffGqeyyd8u/s1280/942-10-Granada.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="851" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAZB0ytELIZshgLNDYB8d9xaocZHl8BZn-nhmtX5tFtxOxDiOfXUdWKiDROj5BkKHXYqpc3xjJdXJCFbUTlTetXA1j1v987lsvxZPyRi2p0LmMYUurVsudd1hanrhjXnUTmxKLk5JrV_LszB0lN_z61i0DQdqLFRV_Sz3y0hme6ffGqeyyd8u/s320/942-10-Granada.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Generalife gardens, Alhambra, Granada</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We
ended up in a maze of narrow cobbled streets, following flights of
steps up and down along dark, twisting alleyways between the walls of
the old residential houses. With dusk falling, it began to feel a
little frightening as we failed to find our way out. Figures looming
out of the dusk or stepping out from dark corners started to seem
sinister and we began to feel vulnerable, to say nothing about fears
of slipping or twisting an ankle on the uneven steps and cobbles.</div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
ended up though at the mirador of Saint Nicholas, a magic viewpoint
for the valley and the rose-coloured walls of the Alhambra. Here
other people were around on a more frequented path which led steeply
down through the narrow streets of the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Albaicín,
the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">old
Arab quarter, to run directly into the souk area, selling bright
embroidered materials and clothes, leather goods, brightly coloured
Moroccan slippers and jewellery, all from tiny shop fronts opening
directly onto the street.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>
</span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Then
we were back in the main town. We searched for ages before finding
anywhere to buy wine and food for breakfast but eventually returned
to our room exhausted. Here we relaxed for 40 minutes with a drink
before venturing out again in search of supper. As I said earlier,
Spain has no interest in food. We found nobody eating, though plenty
of people drinking and smoking. It was now 9:00 p.m., maybe still
early for Spain on a Monday night. However, back near the souk area
we discovered a wonderful little Arab restaurant, Naturi </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Albaicín</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
selling vegetarian food. We had mixed salad and a Moroccan couscous
to die for, prunes, almonds and raisins with vegetables liberally
sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg. This we ate with water — no
alcohol was served in an Arab surrounding — with the CD player
behind the counter providing an appropriate musical accompaniment of
Moroccan music.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><b>Tuesday
30 November Granada Hotel Meridiano.</b></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">The
notice in our hotel room is translated into English for our
convenience. It reads:</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">By
reason for security is totally prohibited the entrance to people who
do not lodge in this hostal.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By
well-beeing of all the client’s, we requested to maintain silence
from the 23:00 at night inside and out side the room’s. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-left: 1.25cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By
the same reason we requested not to use the shower’s as of the same
hour 23:00 at night. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
day has been spent filling in the bits of Granada we didn't do
yesterday. After breakfasting surreptitiously in our room, we made
our way to the chapel of Ferdinand and Isabella, the first Christian
rulers of Granada, to whom the Moors surrendered in 1492. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our
circuitous route took us past some university buildings. The main
campus is on the outskirts of the town but the Law Faculty uses
beautiful old buildings nearby. A walk through the tiny botanical
gardens with specimens of plants from Andalucia brought us to the
paved open courtyard of the Law Faculty with a fountain and statue at
the centre. It had tabs of huge aspidistras and benches around the
edge packed with students. In summer this would be cool and refreshing;
today we shivered in two jackets and gloves as the rain fell
steadily. Corridors led from the courtyard with lecture rooms opening
off. Other courtyards and fountains opened up at the end of each
corridor, a very attractive building. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">At
the chapel of Ferdinand and Isabella we paid our three euros each and
discovered that a large amount of the gold from the New World must
have to gone into gilding the chapel, altars and screens. They were a
blaze of gold leaf with the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella in
beautifully carved marble in the centre of the chapel, along with
those </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Felipe
el Hermoso</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Juana
la Loca</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
(Philip the Handsome and Joanna the Mad) of Castille</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Their bodies actually lie in lead-lined coffins beneath. There is
also a gallery of religious paintings and icons including one of
Christ in the Garden of Olives by Botticelli. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
was pouring with rain as we exited, so we went for a pleasant coffee
and sandwich at Via Col</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ó</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n,
an extravagant dark wood and marble restaurant with carved angels and
musical instruments on and over the marble-topped counter. We then
walked below the Alhambra walls along beside the river to the Arab
baths. These are a wonderfully preserved national monument and free
to enter. They are reached by a pretty walled garden with a fishpond
and fountain in the centre where a brick path leads to a
keyhole-shaped entrance. Inside, the roof is barrel-shaped and
pierced by circular or star-shaped holes to admit daylight. The roof
is held on a series of circular columns with carved marble capitals.
There are several such rooms with carved archways linking them, all
beautifully preserved and dating from around the 13th century. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
cut up back into the steep, narrow, cobbled streets of the </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Albaicín</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
area of yesterday and explored further. Because of the ceaseless
rain, the water was flowing down between the cobbles which now
glistened wet, showing them to be made of a variety of stones ranging
from white marble to green malachite. In front of churches and in
small squares the cobbles have been laid in geometric patterns with
crescent moons or eight-pointed stars. White pebbles have been used to
depict flowers, leaves and tendrils amongst the black pebbles. This
was all to lovely effect, particularly when wet. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
ended up at the Mirador del Sacromonte with its wonderful views down
onto a sodden city, the surrounding hills blotted out by mist. It was
in a pleasant little residential area with children finishing school
for the day at 2:00 p.m. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
returned to our room to dry out for an hour and enjoy illicit cup of
Earl Grey. We read out emails on the hostel’s internet, a message
from our daughter Kate saying that she has applied for a job in
Cadiz. Then we braved the rain to investigate the Realejo, the old
Jewish quarter of the city. Seeing the open sewer of the city flowing
into the river Guadalquivir we were not greatly impressed and,
because of the rain, gave up our quest and visited the public library
instead. I have since discovered that we may have missed something
rather special. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
library is small and overcrowded with students, not a spare seat
anywhere. The book stock is small and underused with issues still
made by reader card and filed in paper format. Students obviously
have no study facilities at their University. A poor man wishing to
read the paper migrated to the children’s section and was told off
for being there. I was already there (there were no kids in the
building at the time) reading an exciting Spanish picture book about
the camping adventures of little Tito with his family, a lovely way
to learn Spanish. The man demanded to know why I was allowed there
and not he, reasonably enough. The poor librarian was finding it
difficult to explain to him that it was acceptable for me because
although I was a 60 year old non</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-rate
payer sheltering from the Granada weather, I was reading a children's
book in the children's section, whereas he was a similar age
ratepayer trying to read the local newspaper, which could only be
read at one of the tables currently occupied by non-rate paying
students who were not even using the books of the library, simply
occupying the space that should have been provided by their faculty</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
I gave up, leaving Tito and his friends building a tree house while
his sister fed a duck and his baby brother played with his cuddly
velvet teddy, and we left before the outbreak of the next Spanish
Civil War.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">We
then visited a department store full of Christmas decorations, more
muted and tasteful than ours despite a singing Santa that startled me
as I passed by, rising up and singing a verse of “The holy and the
ivy” in Spanish. A white-haired Santa Claus gave us some sweeties
as we passed him so he he must have thought we looked like good
children. Finally we returned to our room for a glass of wine and
then set off for the worst part of the day, finding somewhere for
supper. I've already said that it's bad for food in Spain, but
discovered that this was a great understatement. It's awful. We
walked around in the rain until gone 10:00 p.m. simply searching for
somewhere that looked friendly, with people eating. There are bars,
cafeterias etc. by the hundred but always full of macho little
Spaniards drinking, and surrounded in clouds of cigarette smoke.
Nobody seems to eat here. Eventually in desperation we went for a
place where three people could be seen actually eating. They left just after
we arrived. The staff were pleasant enough, but wanting to go home.
They eat late but, if you blink, it's too late. Eating is not a
pleasurable experience as in France, where you linger and chat with
friends. Here we had a watery salad without dressing plonked in front
of each of us. Before we finished, but not intended to overlap or
come together, we had chicken and chips placed on the table as an
next course. This was swimming in fat with some feathers still
clinging to the loose, flaccid chicken skin. The chicken had been
microwaved and was still cold in the middle. The chips – we had
ordered potatoes - were not cooked in the centre and the whole was
tasteless with no sauce or seasoning to speak of. We had ordered a
beer and that was fine and not to be faulted. As we ate, a couple of
slices of tinned pineapple were placed on flat plates in front of us with
no accompaniment at all, the huge dustbin was wheeled in, the debris
from the surrounding tables being swept into it. We decided that
after 30 minutes maximum our presence had ceased to hold any
interest, so we paid up and left, feeling grossly cheated, and
bitter about Spanish cuisine and hospitality. All I can think though
is that it is not personal, because we are English; it's just the
Spanish way.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-78685403059375293472023-08-10T20:44:00.003+01:002023-08-10T20:44:59.797+01:00Portugal 2002. 4. Lisbon and Sintra<div><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Tuesday
1 October 2002, Lisbon</b></div>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Well, as promised, here we are in Portugal's capital city which has given us
a very agreeable first impression. Devastated almost totally by the
earthquake of 1755, it took the opportunity to rebuild to a
completely different layout with streets on a straight grid system
with plenty of open space, parks and huge squares with statues,
monuments and fountains. It is much greener and cleaner than the
Algarve and has a very cosmopolitan atmosphere with many people,
mainly young and black, from former Portuguese colonies. There are
many university students and it is not an obvious spot for tourists.
Huge municipal and private office buildings are to be found in the
main older part of the town on the flat area facing the river Tejo
which is enormously wide. The bridge our bus took across the river
and into the city is the longest I think I've ever crossed. It must
be several kilometres in length with water stretching away on both
sides, the banks just distantly visible. From the oldest central
areas streets rise steeply into the hills of the city where the older
buildings generally survived the earthquake. This area can be reached
by trams which glide up the steep streets on metal rails. Or you can
struggle up with a pile of shopping you've just acquired, following
Ian, map in hand, in hot pursuit of the remains of a Roman theatre
which is somewhere nearby. There is also an excellent, fast, clean,
efficient and cheap underground system which we explored to get us
back to our pleasant hotel at 30 euros a night near the bus station.
Ian has just discovered there is no hot water for the shower, so
perhaps it's not so good.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So
this morning we said goodbye to our lovely landlady in Lagos who
signed to us that if we ever came again we were to stay with her and,
raising her arms to heaven as if in prayer, told us her name was
Maria-Jesus. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
journey to Lisbon started by taking one and a half hours calling at
all the little towns along the coast collecting people for Lisbon. We
pretty well ended up back in Faro and by then were further from our
destination than before we started. However a new motorway now runs
south from Lisbon and, once on that, we made rapid progress, reaching
Lisbon around 2:30 pm about four hours in total. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
route passed through the Sierra de la Monchique which was quite
pretty, very deserted with little sandy tracks going up and along the
crests of the many small hills, with isolated red tiled buildings
scattered thinly across the countryside. Trees have been planted in
lines around the contours of the hills, otherwise there was just
scrub. The further north we went, the greener the countryside and the
more care taken of it. Some areas have been cleared of the many
stones found in the soil. Dry stone walls had been constructed within
which citrus fruits, vines and vegetables were growing. The roadside
litter and rubbish of the south disappeared and the landscape, while
still rather uninspiring, looked cared for. As it remained pretty
flat and boring I fell asleep.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian
then woke me as we approached Lisbon to see the amazing bridge across
the Rio Tejo, then we passed the airport and made our way into the
city along straight, wide, bright tree-lined roads edged by huge
expensive homes in pink, white or yellow rendering. There is no
graffiti and no litter in this city. It is clean, fresh and bright,
though there is still heavy traffic, parking looks impossible, and
double parking seems the norm. Struggling from the bus station in
search of accommodation, we chanced upon the Residence Ideal, just a
few minutes walk from the bus station. A charming young lady with
perfect English welcomed us, offering a double room with an ensuite
bathroom for 45 euros. The bathroom and toilet had glass doors; it
must be a Portuguese thing. Anyway we said we needed something
cheaper, so we have a nice clean room on the front, but the road is
quieter than Seville and tree-lined. The toilets are at the far end
of a long corridor in the shared bathroom, which is a nuisance, but
we didn't feel like lugging cases around in the hot sunshine to find
somewhere more suitable. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
walked down into the main city centre. It was a long way but gave us
a chance to get our bearings and appreciate just how nicely the city
has been developed. We had a very expensive beer and sandwich on the
Square Prior de Figuera, but it was nice in the shade, watching all
the nations of the world go by, looking up at the castle battlements
on one of the hills of the town. I feel Lisbon tries to emulate
Paris. In many ways it does an excellent job, but it is actually
cleaner and smarter and doesn't quite capture that feel; very
pleasant nonetheless. We walked down to the river, explored the
streets and squares and went to an art exhibition about sport in
cartoon caricature, held in the smart building of the Ministry of
Finance. We visited the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Igreja
de Nossa Senhora da Conceição Velha, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">only
the façade of which dates from before the earthquake. Then we
explored the old buildings and narrow streets of the area leading up
to the Castle, the only area to have survived intact from the
earthquake. This was a pleasant district, reserved for the local
folk, full of little alleys and interesting looking flights of
cobbled stairways. Eventually we reached the castle with its
magnificent views over the city and all its bright red roofs and
splashes of colour where public gardens were to be found. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ecO6QDD52QdRS456FWlNHxgFH32HzOkWHrSheCfXSnqExkzb9fGZ_UKrwf-ZMtSH-mtv5D9o_lSHe_A3UrkKA62DjI94oKaRM29Td1hShIsGUPIJz5pZLjjC3mEN2i1DR8uKqzPphJcX3ohS-IvRq8yBt04bD_9E9GzZkpXlNak3kGgzGLM8/s1280/820-29-Lisbon-Castelo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="854" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ecO6QDD52QdRS456FWlNHxgFH32HzOkWHrSheCfXSnqExkzb9fGZ_UKrwf-ZMtSH-mtv5D9o_lSHe_A3UrkKA62DjI94oKaRM29Td1hShIsGUPIJz5pZLjjC3mEN2i1DR8uKqzPphJcX3ohS-IvRq8yBt04bD_9E9GzZkpXlNak3kGgzGLM8/s320/820-29-Lisbon-Castelo.jpg" width="214" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Castelo, Lisbon</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">There were
also views out across the huge river with a scarlet sunset on the
hills on the far side. The castle is free to enter and inside is laid
out in gardens. Much of the building remains, so you can wander from
one courtyard to another or climb up and walk along the battlements,
getting ever-changing views from the distant different gaps in the
crenelations.</div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXI-Jmv1YxZe8qgc1wo8vAIqjd5i6JlrLdQEm5qyXBdFtkneqQRnmqbKz8kkT2nK_q1ACkv2-ut6f8bYyzXlJ5JJtUzJeS5pMB0iyXPaowuXRcCpKzZr5tI7vJc0FLE1-EC64mBPh_Ft2ZiwsZ1CYaPXk_DKLCZhZgtbsE0UhKgZukvpUiHTb/s1280/820-30-Lisbon-Castelo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1280" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXI-Jmv1YxZe8qgc1wo8vAIqjd5i6JlrLdQEm5qyXBdFtkneqQRnmqbKz8kkT2nK_q1ACkv2-ut6f8bYyzXlJ5JJtUzJeS5pMB0iyXPaowuXRcCpKzZr5tI7vJc0FLE1-EC64mBPh_Ft2ZiwsZ1CYaPXk_DKLCZhZgtbsE0UhKgZukvpUiHTb/s320/820-30-Lisbon-Castelo.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>View from Castelo, Lisbon</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Finally
we descended to the town again and stopped for supper in one of the
many little restaurants in the theatre area of the town, which is now
mostly pedestrianized. We had a nice mixed salad followed by a
chicken which we shared, with chips. We also had a bottle of water
and a half bottle of red wine. The restaurant wasn't terribly busy
and there was a surfeit of white-jacketed waiters, each one intent of
making our stay perfect. It was quite over the top and rather spoilt
our meal having them hovering around and almost fighting to be the
one to top up our water glass again. However, the food was good and
the chicken cooked to perfection. The bill was 19.50 euros and we
were not charged for the cover, which we pointedly left untouched.
We then found the metro back to our hotel where we were both eager
for sleep. Our colds are still very nasty and walking around is
tiring. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Wednesday
2 October 2002</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
had been raining slightly during the night and the day was overcast
and cooler. We decided to visit the old town of Sintra about 25
kilometres from Lisbon. So today we explored the Portuguese trains.
We worked out the station we needed, walked there, bought tickets,
worked out the time and platform number and where we needed to change
trains. We were however completely floored when it came to finding
where they hidden the platform. I have begun to wonder better there
was a Portuguese version of the Hogwarts Express on a platform that
only materialized when we walked hard into one of the shiny
granite-faced columns of the station concourse. We eventually
located it at the far end of platform 2, along a couple of moving
pavements and over a bridge. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
train went for miles through the hinterland of Lisbon amongst endless
blocks of flats with washing on the balconies, squashed tightly
together rising up the flanks of the hills surrounding the city.
There was no grass or open spaces for children to play; these areas
were filled with rubbish and covered in graffiti. Admittedly much of
the graffiti was artistic rather than obscene, but gave a very seedy
appearance to the suburbs. People were living in plastic covered
shacks alongside the railway lines at one point, using the track
itself as their route into town. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
changed trains at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Cacém,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
where the only way from platform to platform was across the track.
There were five platforms and people were crossing in front of moving
trains. Lots of people were wandering along the tracks as everyday
shortcuts home, simply stepping aside as the trains passed.
Everywhere seems sad and poor quality after the contrast with Lisbon,
a city very much on the move, chic, modern and cosmopolitan. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On
the train we were approached by a lad of about ten with a red skin
condition covering part of his face. He handed us a leaflet in
Portuguese stating he had cancer and needed expensive hospital
treatment. We have become very aware of the many different ways
people have of begging and took our lead from other travellers who
said no and returned his card. It happens so many times each day, and
we always feel guilty saying no. We don't understand the support
situation for immigrants or the homeless and handicapped, so it's
difficult to know who is genuine and who is exploiting the situation.
We have had gypsies, Romanian and Kosovan refugees, men with one leg,
women with babies, very poor quality singers and musicians. Sad
looking men keep asking for cigarettes and children are sent over by
parents to plead for money. But maybe it's just as bad in London and
we just don't notice. There are some scruffy, dirty areas with
graffiti and rubbish around the stations in south London and plenty
of begging too. We have not been greatly aware of alcohol or drug
problems here. Mind you, our room is opposite the Ministry of Health
building and next to the centre for drug dependence and
detoxification. Generally we feel quite safe walking about in Lisbon.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
we arrived in Sintra I was completely and immediately astonished. It
is a lovely old town, unaffected by the 1755 earthquake, being built
on granite rather than limestone, which might explain it. The
countryside is one of high wooded hills and deep cool valleys full of
green vegetation. The streets are a network of cobbled alleys lined
with old, slightly shabby buildings with terraces for outside cafes.
There is a happy, relaxed atmosphere and everywhere you look there is
something interesting to watch or exciting to investigate. The old
town is on one hill, with the station and slightly more modern parts
spread over two other hills, so it is quite tiring to walk around and
we were grateful for the cooler weather.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1yfyIskfR5vOshyx8_peX2JhMUlM9JVp66MeaOL5Z-rOWyFjC48qLtE_vxoEdIIX9ARlyzIa45NeLcQEpD18B3Ayu-Je8qgwyObLwMaAjwAitarqIBIerGvS_ZAy60Ouv_lxDfxc5nSAUBo8AJEknKKdcaiSivgDV28z9Pbal8TBOGSA54aAs/s1280/820-31-Sintra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="861" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1yfyIskfR5vOshyx8_peX2JhMUlM9JVp66MeaOL5Z-rOWyFjC48qLtE_vxoEdIIX9ARlyzIa45NeLcQEpD18B3Ayu-Je8qgwyObLwMaAjwAitarqIBIerGvS_ZAy60Ouv_lxDfxc5nSAUBo8AJEknKKdcaiSivgDV28z9Pbal8TBOGSA54aAs/s320/820-31-Sintra.jpg" width="215" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Sintra</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
walked from the terminus station, whose approach road was being dug
up with a tangle of uprooted tram tracks, passed the neo-Arabic town
hall down into a valley and then round the town walls, emerging in
the main square in front of the late gothic Sintra National Palace
with its two distinctive conical white chimneys which have become the
symbol of the national park in this World Heritage Site. The palace
proved to be closed so we contented ourselves with a delicious coffee
on a terrace on the square, contemplating the ruins of the Moorish
castle a very long way above the town. A bus appeared, very crowded
and with a cheerful driver who sold us two day tickets. We held on
for dear life as the bus corkscrewed its way up six kilometres
through wooded hillsides, stopping at a ticket booth. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
passed through a heavy wooden turnstile into a wonderfully
atmospheric place. Damp, green, with massive granite rocks covered
with moss, trees starting to drop their leaves onto winding paths
which allowed glimpses of the town below and the castle walls above. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGPg6psBw2CGtlomnl5vYNB1dx0DUhd_H6dufEe1GVJSE_LiXA1F3i3HBDtB0nNIN6xoU4_0mgez4ZjR9yVCcgtUL8GTQgc6U41bRHxVGCTmYk4TUaI5JnsaBgSRMQHWsv02ycYbA-9_RBOnqgyXmiGqWiirivE0m7Z4c7z-NlfQ5_Vtxs7Ej/s1280/820-32-Sintra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="876" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGPg6psBw2CGtlomnl5vYNB1dx0DUhd_H6dufEe1GVJSE_LiXA1F3i3HBDtB0nNIN6xoU4_0mgez4ZjR9yVCcgtUL8GTQgc6U41bRHxVGCTmYk4TUaI5JnsaBgSRMQHWsv02ycYbA-9_RBOnqgyXmiGqWiirivE0m7Z4c7z-NlfQ5_Vtxs7Ej/s320/820-32-Sintra.jpg" width="219" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Moorish Castle, Sintra</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The whole site, majestically situated on the crest of two hills, has been landscaped in the romantic style by Dom Fernando II, the German husband of Donna Maria II in the 1860s. The castle had been built by the Moors in the eighth century and captured by the Portuguese in 1147. The ruined Chapel Dom Afonso Henriquez built could still be seen, as could the granaries cut by the Moors into the solid rock, and a massive cistern for collecting rainwater. Battlemented walls with towers at intervals wound ever upwards and we found a bench halfway up the higher hill with magnificent views across wooded valleys and plains towards the sea. Lisbon was hidden behind a range of hills.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZzRq7VyJDzMVRTjRVSg-1PX6b31yqwEPjsP3BhiMIlkh3IrC7SUN7z2jtVKGVfV_Okol8hlzb6sM2OJ2eaQ6LchYiIlbMn2i8t-nb-q1cbgU3ccnx35yUO4XF4dzpKH50thfiVpVHMV1wkvM3gNzNWKd3P_t2JQEWeY3ORTKjYx6fTfEnzygJ/s1280/820-33-Sintra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1280" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZzRq7VyJDzMVRTjRVSg-1PX6b31yqwEPjsP3BhiMIlkh3IrC7SUN7z2jtVKGVfV_Okol8hlzb6sM2OJ2eaQ6LchYiIlbMn2i8t-nb-q1cbgU3ccnx35yUO4XF4dzpKH50thfiVpVHMV1wkvM3gNzNWKd3P_t2JQEWeY3ORTKjYx6fTfEnzygJ/s320/820-33-Sintra.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>View over Sintra from the Moorish Castle</i></div><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">We consumed our rolls and continued our climb. The Pena
National Palace confronted us, perched on top of the next hill, just
before we reached the tower at the highest point of the castle. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0ciWB5FkMlCeQ2XMBqjv4xgRsVN982GTBIn5VSZ-Fq4eQ7D_pz7aJ5xAmfLM3I4RR1VMJpLIVh1dgINnmIKxPAumfSEgeFzAvpL3ciUhLqCnIcqfURVGWQYqIyMxX0oojMMeLA9ZXeN9eA-hNd9kD853CKbwDhGiMwuGI8YbOE1jWV_HhKAh/s1280/820-34-Sintra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="855" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0ciWB5FkMlCeQ2XMBqjv4xgRsVN982GTBIn5VSZ-Fq4eQ7D_pz7aJ5xAmfLM3I4RR1VMJpLIVh1dgINnmIKxPAumfSEgeFzAvpL3ciUhLqCnIcqfURVGWQYqIyMxX0oojMMeLA9ZXeN9eA-hNd9kD853CKbwDhGiMwuGI8YbOE1jWV_HhKAh/s320/820-34-Sintra.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Pena Palace, Sintra</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We
descended and made our way to the palace, which proved to be a highly
enjoyable and exuberant mishmash of styles. Ferdinand of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, husband of Maria II, acquired the ruins of a
monastery in 1839 and engaged a German engineer to indulge his taste
for romantic exoticism. We fully expected a Mickey Mouse figure to
appear and squeak “Welcome to my magic kingdom”. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdWS5LdkkeJ6Edq8moQUHAIleAMicI7EVY0_vO_Cu3OZmIJc5iLKocfeRZ8Ge3K9LMJtnkaOSonE_HAWNzJIrkKRqqH0wAXYrnC7ZsrBpnftWe4ReSEKVjJjuSiFcptum8KS9kpscykx5IB4PrAMjxWGZ0WpgchpVbensBWTh4roZHmG-YDk6/s1280/820-35-Sintra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="881" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdWS5LdkkeJ6Edq8moQUHAIleAMicI7EVY0_vO_Cu3OZmIJc5iLKocfeRZ8Ge3K9LMJtnkaOSonE_HAWNzJIrkKRqqH0wAXYrnC7ZsrBpnftWe4ReSEKVjJjuSiFcptum8KS9kpscykx5IB4PrAMjxWGZ0WpgchpVbensBWTh4roZHmG-YDk6/s320/820-35-Sintra.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Entrance to Pena Palace, Sintra</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The late gothic
of the 1503 monastery of Nossa Senhora de Pena had been overlaid by a
mixture of Moorish, Indian and oriental inspired detail. Cables and
knotwork twined round windows, turrets with grotesque Manueline
excrescences sprouted everywhere. Tiles abounded, covering the
ceilings as well as the walls. Over one doorway a grotesque creature
recalling the wildest imaginings of Arthur Rackham dared anyone to pass
through. The interior was imaginative, with a wide range of
decorative techniques being employed. In one place the ceiling
vaulting and walls were covered with upholstered silk or damask, in
another stucco in Moorish patterns, in another tiles, in another
stonework painted to look like wood and in yet another trompe l’oeil
mouldings and pillars.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5jVCjBAOwnh8iBfmBZkfgbQlmZIivANCSy7D2i0WfYFUJgYxDk6DeBiJr7giQnfwlJD4vcsCyXbxfq-2hSQfIKPWrWC9wmjmUVgxjfIWC3CfQHfPEF5fq902hY8gw5Yfc_MajWpEVYlyy_pnLV3SwtZzpr0-MSqWDVbMtD7zuEAaZUO6ZukK/s1280/820-37-Sintra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="845" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5jVCjBAOwnh8iBfmBZkfgbQlmZIivANCSy7D2i0WfYFUJgYxDk6DeBiJr7giQnfwlJD4vcsCyXbxfq-2hSQfIKPWrWC9wmjmUVgxjfIWC3CfQHfPEF5fq902hY8gw5Yfc_MajWpEVYlyy_pnLV3SwtZzpr0-MSqWDVbMtD7zuEAaZUO6ZukK/s320/820-37-Sintra.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fantasy doorway, Pena Palace, Sintra</i></div></span></div><div><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
banqueting hall was lit by a chandelier with 72 candles, helped out
by four statues of Turks each bearing another 25. There was an Indian
room with elaborately carved teak furniture, a legacy of Goa, a
Meissen room with mirrors, lamp stands and other furniture made of
Dresden porcelain, an import of a homesick German prince. The
apartments of the King, the Queen and Prince Carlos could be seen
fully furnished, the last including sensuous wall paintings he had
executed. Some of the apartments were quite intimate and boasted a
number of technical Innovations, a very early telephone exchange,
baths with elaborate shower fixtures, a delightful range of
lavatories some of them veritable thrones with armrests, elaborate
back or tiled surrounds. The main rooms were arranged in two floors
around the original colonnaded courtyard or cloisters which had been
decorated with patterned tiles. The views were magnificent, and a
walkway has been built around the entire site precariously teetering
on the edge of the rocks, at times permitting the site of, amongst
other things, the Moorish castle and an enormous statue of the
architect perched on a distant crag. It was a thoroughly enjoyable
experience, except for the nagging worry that one person could lavish
so much money on such an extravagant folly. Still, the world can
admire it now, so it is no different from the theme parks, also built
at large expense.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQ_uiHd7lu8xvv-TMdDPiIXATeHjCVo7sDvOMnAK54hGl-2MEkG2QEnMrTyBHLj_Es5sXwOWV7coZZ9602ETTtZidyEMMohWIM9GmzJJm598gz9h24LX2JAk6YRP_mulr3KJ1q5Jb0hhaBiPbzgRK27Xr8t_08WHofvJ6MZfI7EJZp0fUcMTT/s1280/820-36-Sintra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1280" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQ_uiHd7lu8xvv-TMdDPiIXATeHjCVo7sDvOMnAK54hGl-2MEkG2QEnMrTyBHLj_Es5sXwOWV7coZZ9602ETTtZidyEMMohWIM9GmzJJm598gz9h24LX2JAk6YRP_mulr3KJ1q5Jb0hhaBiPbzgRK27Xr8t_08WHofvJ6MZfI7EJZp0fUcMTT/s320/820-36-Sintra.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>View of Moorish Castle from Pena Palace, Sintra</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
caught the bus down and wandered around the historic town with its
steep streets and shops selling local handicrafts and souvenirs,
eventually catching the train back into Rossi Station which also boasts a
magnificent Manueline façade. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thanks
again Ian; I was too exhausted to write this last night and anyway he
and does the cultural bits better. The interior of Palacio Pena was
beautiful, extravagant, furnished with wonderful pieces of its time,
the 1860s. Everything from the cutlery and porcelain to the fabrics
and furniture had been a special commissioned and was wonderful. The
outside was a total hoot, a wonderful eclectic mix of everything
that's fun in architecture. The nearest local equivalent is perhaps
Castle Drogo for a modern castle in a beautiful setting coupled with
the Prince Regent’s palace in Brighton for innovations in interior
design and style, and a Walt Disney Fantasy world castle as far as
the external appearance was concerned. The top of the craggy hill on
which it is constructed has been worked into the walls and
foundations, so great granite tors and outcrops suddenly meet tiled or
brightly stuccoed walls.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span><span><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
views both from here and the Moorish Castle nearby were stupendous.
They looked down over the steep, thickly wooded hillside to the
plain below, stretching flat way into the distance to the sea,
scattered with the red tiled roofs of dozens of little towns. Up here
it was more like a German fairy-tale castle and easy to realize it was
all the creation of a homesick German who had found somewhere that
reminded him of home. As I said, the whole day felt as if we had been
transported out of Portugal to a town and countryside somewhere in
Eastern Europe, the Saxon Alps or Visegr</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">á</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">d in Hungary. This feeling
was added to by being in conversation with a German couple and
sharing bus seats with four Hungarians. Back in Lisbon, we took the
funicular tramway up a steep cobbled road lined with houses to reach
the high level of the town. The tramcar was beautifully old and
rattly, with varnished wooden seats. We had really only gone for the
ride but decided to explore all the little residential backstreets
and tiny shops, printers, furniture restorers, bookshops and
mini-shops selling fruit and basic food stuffs. We discovered a
left-wing bookshop with an exhibition area, meeting room, café and
video and CD section hidden unobtrusively in a corner behind a plain
door. We followed after a couple of students, out of curiosity. I wonder
what's behind some of the other doors we passed by. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Back
down in the town we saw a very simple looking restaurant away from
the main tourist area so tried it. It was full of local people
watching football on TV at the bar for eating at the surrounding
tables. They were all Portuguese and we worked out the menu without
too much trouble, ordering in Portuguese a mixed salad with one
cheese and one sausage omelette, chips, wine and water, followed by a
huge slice of melon each. It all worked perfectly, with several
chuckles on both sides. We greatly enjoyed the experience and
watching the local folk greet each other or sit chatting and cheering
the match. The bill was 16 euros and that was no cover charge. We
weren't even offered olives, cheeses and so on that we didn't want;
they had to be requested. Then home on the underground again, so
clean and shining, relaxed, unthreatening with classical music
playing and video cameras where you can see the whole platform from
any angle as you pass by the shiny glass computerized control office
on the platform showing where the trains are on the system and when
they'll be arriving. And so home, weary for a shower and bed. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Thursday
3 October 2002. Lisbon. </b></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This
morning we woke early, our sleep having been punctuated by the
delivery of a large number of very clanking things in the middle of
the night. We purchased our tickets for Faro for 8:30 on Friday
morning at 14.50 euros each, and had coffee and a roll at the station
snack bar served by a young man, delighted to show off his limited
English. It disappeared entirely when we asked what time he closed
but a customer helped out. No chance of a snack there tomorrow
evening but, leaving the bus station, we stumbled across the best
local supermarket we have found so far in Portugal. It would have
been useful to have found it earlier as shops are so limited in what
they stock but we obtained a good range of provisions for today. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
purchased a freedom ticket for bus/tram/metro for 2.60 euros at the
Saldanha metro station and got off at Baixa. An endless escalator
disgorged us into the Largo Trinidade Coelho which meant that, after
briefly inspecting the massive square with the beautiful church of
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">São
Roque, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we
had to make our way down again on foot to the Baixa, where we picked
up a modern tram to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Belém.
O</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">ur
seat behind the driver gave us a quick lesson on how to manage one of
these air-conditioned articulated monsters. We also discovered the
problems of being unable to steer as they waited for vehicles double
parked for delivery or taxis collecting fares. Eventually we arrived,
after a ride along the river front, before of the large white wedding
cake of the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, created in the first years of the
16th century by King Manuel I.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJfsdAXVYbNU2uqGVNDWv0onaBZp79QAwp9WyRYnTPDMBVqvhrw1KVqcJh7KXRsEydzL202ZckUA5dUyxnp_LQsfkmjtIlKJTH_LcVO95L7TDNuk_TS1h4BYnrUPiX6QHrtbKk8_WgcwBrT84jIoSaYktFjPRGDzK0FGAYdjY1kEm7Wu4RcfW/s1280/830-02-Lisbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJfsdAXVYbNU2uqGVNDWv0onaBZp79QAwp9WyRYnTPDMBVqvhrw1KVqcJh7KXRsEydzL202ZckUA5dUyxnp_LQsfkmjtIlKJTH_LcVO95L7TDNuk_TS1h4BYnrUPiX6QHrtbKk8_WgcwBrT84jIoSaYktFjPRGDzK0FGAYdjY1kEm7Wu4RcfW/s320/830-02-Lisbon.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="text-align: justify;">Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, </span><span style="color: #4d5156; text-align: left;">Belém, Lisbon</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />Typically, the cloisters were closed
in preparation for the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the monastery. It was
built to celebrate the discovery of the route around Africa to India
by Vasco de Gama. No expense was spared; taxes were diverted to the
undertaking and the architects virtually created the elaborate
Manueline style, a cross between gothic and Renaissance which covered
the columns with elaborate foliage and surrounded windows with
intricate strap-work and entwined ropes. The chapel of the monastery
was intended as a pantheon for the royal family, and the classical
lines of the chapels contrasted with all this florid decoration. The
sarcophagi were borne aloft on the backs of elephants, a reminder of
India, and the chapels were decorated with mannerist paintings. All
this was admired by thousands of tourists who set up a buzz of noise
which made the “Silencio” notices look rather pathetic. They
photographed each other in front of the tombs of Vasco de Gama and
the national poet </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Camões</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
whose Manueline revival tombs were completed in 1894. But even the
crowds of tourists failed to dampen the impressive nature of the
building, an expression of a small nation’s pride and
self-confidence. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span>
<p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
left the Monastery and crossed the square in front to the monument
erected to the Portuguese discoverers in 1960 for the 400th
anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. In the shape of an
enormous caravel with two dozen historical figures considerably
larger than life lining each side behind Henry the Navigator, the
whole structure overlooked the Tejo estuary. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOobfXFGaYfBqJi9x3T0sLwJ0DmFIoAynfo1W2YZAsiFohseiY46QZEGZuWtdRxM9WKUd9QGkAtBRRh-urxyendJOccyIvUJ_dK2t7N3VaMX2M8piODa94xZBYkDzcoHe_jdn22jNBSTmm10UhpmM-OAYNWWMA746zHz2-nzkyZmmd3lLekZ6N/s1280/830-03-Lisbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOobfXFGaYfBqJi9x3T0sLwJ0DmFIoAynfo1W2YZAsiFohseiY46QZEGZuWtdRxM9WKUd9QGkAtBRRh-urxyendJOccyIvUJ_dK2t7N3VaMX2M8piODa94xZBYkDzcoHe_jdn22jNBSTmm10UhpmM-OAYNWWMA746zHz2-nzkyZmmd3lLekZ6N/s320/830-03-Lisbon.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><i><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Monument to </span>Portuguese<span style="font-style: normal;"> explorers, </span></span><span style="color: #4d5156; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left;">Belém, Lisbon</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><br />We wandered over the
enormous wind rose in the paving, behind which there was a map of the
world inlaid in stone, highlighting areas of Portuguese influence.
Then we went downstream along the riverfront for about one kilometre
to where the white tower of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Belém</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
stood in the water by the shore, connected by a footbridge. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0BvGCGg67V4LFMgFi0C-479QC1v118_PdLbv-99GsGr9pSwLoLeLtcg_o4yGypr-l56a15_j-hMNZ-Vuf6zMF7hA67R3FY_qg_MoXDOnJuhYK47Cck0qkQj6Dew9gNRVclvexOi0msEPmIAUFkmG7_odeuz0mFmfQkKEq7uglGdhPLm9Lc6l/s1280/830-05-Lisbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1280" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0BvGCGg67V4LFMgFi0C-479QC1v118_PdLbv-99GsGr9pSwLoLeLtcg_o4yGypr-l56a15_j-hMNZ-Vuf6zMF7hA67R3FY_qg_MoXDOnJuhYK47Cck0qkQj6Dew9gNRVclvexOi0msEPmIAUFkmG7_odeuz0mFmfQkKEq7uglGdhPLm9Lc6l/s320/830-05-Lisbon.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Torre de <span style="color: #4d5156; text-align: left;">Belém, Lisbon</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Originally situated in the middle of the shifting Rio Tejo, it was
intended both as a defence and, with its elaborate decoration, as a
statement of power and prestige. A dizzying spiral staircase led up
four floors to a grand view of the city and the estuary, where an
aircraft carrier rode at anchor. The whole was a unique blend of the
decorative and the defensive, the cannons in the undercroft being
accompanied by delicate balconies and arcades. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7j5oi8OAqqSgfqmgpIzyd66T8vnYyVajot0yZsZoOqc9_aFVfHgnqsninUCfQ2-ReyslZg6BHSLMTu9y3AnfAinpSgUQbxYjwQ7euV8inPZHBRs_qLhc1V8KA0BAJdHsbg30TzRD2NxAWeOvIPSebP2-nl0G9tDXKm8_EHIS2wF9xMzSN8k2d/s1280/830-04-Lisbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7j5oi8OAqqSgfqmgpIzyd66T8vnYyVajot0yZsZoOqc9_aFVfHgnqsninUCfQ2-ReyslZg6BHSLMTu9y3AnfAinpSgUQbxYjwQ7euV8inPZHBRs_qLhc1V8KA0BAJdHsbg30TzRD2NxAWeOvIPSebP2-nl0G9tDXKm8_EHIS2wF9xMzSN8k2d/s320/830-04-Lisbon.jpg" width="204" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Balcony in Torre de <span style="color: #4d5156; text-align: left;">Belém, Lisbon</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />We ate our lunch on
the shore facing the tower, then passed through gardens to explore
the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">uburb
of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Belém,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
our main discovery there being a place to consume two orange juices
to counteract the effects of what had turned out to be a hot and
sultry day. We both felt exhausted lugging the rucksack full of
books, cameras, water and shopping, so we caught the tram back to the
centre of Lisbon, but were obliged to stand most of the way. It was
however air conditioned which was sheer heaven. Having passes to the
public transport system and feeling very weary, we decided to ride on
the really old trams which still rattle and wheeze their way around
the same unaltered circuit of the city that they have done for the
past 100 plus years. They are quite small with varnished wooden
seats, the air conditioning consists of windows that lift right up
out of the way all round so the air passes straight through. It is
not very safe though, and the streets are so narrow that at times
that the trams passed within an inch of the walls of the houses
lining the street, so you have to keep your elbows well tucked in. It
is a wonderful time warp, an experience both concerning the tram
itself, and its setting amidst the tightly packed streets of old grey
shops and houses with very steep narrow cobbled streets along which
the tracks were laid. Bends that seemed impossible were negotiated
through tiny squares or corners with trees under which local people
sat in groups, playing cards or taking a drink and past huge old
churches washed in white, pink or yellow. It was a very vibrant
area, a bit run down through age but an active living part of the
city.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span>
<p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
tram struggled its way endlessly up and down the nearby hills that
form part of the city. Kids returning from school shouted to friends
on the narrow pavements, who then ran along beside the tram until it
got too narrow or they encountered someone standing in their doorway
and there was no room to pass, so close was the tram to the walls.
Dogs, old folk, everyone just wandered out in front. Whenever there
was room for a vehicle, it had been left, allowing perhaps half an
inch of clearance for the tram. Frequently vehicles parked on the
track itself, so we had to wait, the driver ringing impatiently
until an owner would rush out from a nearby doorway and drive off
ahead of us. Sometimes we would see steep views down to the river or
the town as we slithered down, the brakes screeching and the body of
the tram, crowded with travellers, shrieking and groaning in protest.
At other times we be pointing up a hill at such a steep angle you
expected to sliver back down. Then we would need to stop because of
an obstruction or a very sharp bend. Sometimes the driver had to get
out and manually shift the points with an iron spike. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
the driver! We had a pretty young lass of about our daughter Kate’s
age sitting up front on a wooden stool, working a combination of
levers and illuminated buttons. The latter, I guess, were an addition
to conform to modern day safety requirements. I wonder if the drivers
get repetitive strain injury moving the lever around all the time to
precisely regulate the tram’s speed. Would I trust riding on a tram
with my daughter at the wheel – or rather the lever? Yet we had
complete confidence in this young lass, so patient and competent. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
got off one tram near the castle of Saint George at a pretty square
with outside tables where folk sat drinking. There was a pretty
flowering garden overlooking the Rio Tejo and the huge suspension
bridge. Steep streets, too narrow for the tram, lured us even higher.
It was such a cool place after the enormous heat of the flat area of
the lower town. Trees stood in squares, there was an ancient house,
the huge old army barracks very attractive in style, a former
Augustinian convent. Washing was hanging out to dry, dogs snoozing,
old men tottering along with sticks or sitting in doorways. We saw
one old man, blind, listening to his little radio held in his hands.
There was a wonderful view down onto the red roofs of Lisbon, a
stretch of the river, and across to the high crenelations of the
castle walls. The hilltop on which the castle stands provides a
splash of natural green colour in a landscape otherwise completely
covered by buildings and cobbled roads. We visited a really huge
baroque church Nossa Senhora da Gra</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ça,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
cool and peaceful but absolutely enormous, with huge side aisles with
statues and dark paintings, a painted ceiling, carved marble columns,
and windows with 18th century decoration. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our
tram ride continued to the terminus at the Jardim de Estrela where we
wandered beneath trees in the cool of the evening. The writer Henry
Fielding is buried nearby in the English Cemetery of the Church of
Saint George. He died in Lisbon in 1754. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
returned down to the town centre on the tram, then caught the
pristine modern metro back to our area at Saldhana. We picked up some
quiche and salad at a supermarket we discovered and returned
exhausted to our room where we ate and consumed the best part of a
bottle of Portuguese red wine. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Friday
4 October 2002. </b></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our
last day. We fly home from Faro at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow. We have
tickets for the 8:30 p.m. bus to Faro and plan to sleep on it until
we arrive at half past midnight. Then we'll need to find a taxi to
the airport and kill four or five hours there until check-in time. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian
worked out a route from our hotel to the metro line that went out to
the Parque das Nações, a huge area opened to celebrate a trade fair
in 1998 and presumably funded with European Community subsidies. The
train was crammed with students from the University of Lisbon, mainly
wearing jeans and pale blue shirts or t-shirts and trainers. Some
were more smartly dressed and more huge black cloaks, not very
practical in 30 degrees of heat. The cloaks were all lined with cloth
badges of places they visited, other European universities and even
football clubs. However they would have been hidden during any
ceremonial occasions at the university. We later saw the students,
about 50 or 60 of them, around the Parque das Nações and asked what
they were doing. The lass Ian asked explained that the ones in cloaks
were third-year students and the others were first and second year
ones. I gather it was their version of freshers’ week and the new
students were being made to feel at home by being introduced to
university life. The lass explained in delightful English “we are
playing with them”. It certainly seemed a curious way of playing.
Two male students stood on the grass while two female ones knelt in
front and had a race to see which of them could first thread an
object up from the bottom of one of the trouser legs and out at the
waistband. Both teams were having difficulty at the later stages, but
were cheered on by all the other students sitting watching on the
grass around.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCR_ql0CDY0LJREFdYVcakdBTH07zADNMV77aveyR8peKjYnAkjU-xNn5FtIWiq3OhluJxvIta28r7nvHiacYtAw-VHbCXpLra-wAWy6v3H-jN6EwdgSXean_m9tCETmkoYXW7HVGzFsizJAXVC7ikNvSiiBeBz0tNcUfIzH5BaA1cz0hzUDq/s1280/830-08-Lisbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCR_ql0CDY0LJREFdYVcakdBTH07zADNMV77aveyR8peKjYnAkjU-xNn5FtIWiq3OhluJxvIta28r7nvHiacYtAw-VHbCXpLra-wAWy6v3H-jN6EwdgSXean_m9tCETmkoYXW7HVGzFsizJAXVC7ikNvSiiBeBz0tNcUfIzH5BaA1cz0hzUDq/s320/830-08-Lisbon.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>University freshers' event in Parque das Nações, Lisbon</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />The Parque das Nações is reached by a specially built
metro station Gare do Oriente, itself a stunning sight in polished
marble, a huge concourse with vast arches on several levels with
escalators and a permanent team of cleaners polishing the floors.
Stalls displayed and sold Portuguese produce, and eating off the
floor could be a significantly more hygienic experience and from some
of the terrace tables in other parts of the city. From the station a
huge open space led across to the ultimate in modern shopping malls.
Alternatively there are aerial walkways across with views across the
park to the Rio Tejo and the enormously long and structurally
beautiful and impressive bridge across which we travelled to reach
Lisbon on our arrival. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Vasco de Gama shopping centre is also constructed in shining marble
tiles with white with escalators and smart walkways to reach the
different levels. The shops are all very chic with names like Gucci, Springfield or Pierre Cardin. There were plenty of people window
shopping but not so many buying. It is a mystery to us how the
economy of a country runs. Never have we seen such a lavish complex
as the one at the Parque das Nações. It makes </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">La</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Défense</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
Paris seem a shabby, dirty and dated area and la Grande Arche not so
special compared to the gleaming white structures in Portuguese
marble to be seen here. The whole Vasco da Gama shopping precinct is
shaped like a huge caravel with a silver white delicate structure
like a ship's prow at one end. The whole complex is covered by a
glass dome with water constantly flowing over it to keep the inside
cool. It is also very popular with the white gulls from the river who
love to paddle in the constantly trickling water. The shadows and the
reflected light of the sun on the water causes an interesting effect
of light shimmering over the inside of the complex which is really
very pleasant. I guess too the constant water keeps the glass clean.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsE6J7jL8RsSEg1TpfM-fom6GzyZBcEej-27rJj_5WtC-uH2RtK2D0ZF5NddeZnix3SKbpJoYnBl-3_by5ghUCJydumkfHfBtFoxhKOA0tiLXhqQZ1uLH-h4p9O9XS6Hsc-k6c7CvmkBVwrgL2SjPt4eCfnblaVD6gCbJ6jEo9aFRBhT4guJJJ/s1280/830-07-Lisbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsE6J7jL8RsSEg1TpfM-fom6GzyZBcEej-27rJj_5WtC-uH2RtK2D0ZF5NddeZnix3SKbpJoYnBl-3_by5ghUCJydumkfHfBtFoxhKOA0tiLXhqQZ1uLH-h4p9O9XS6Hsc-k6c7CvmkBVwrgL2SjPt4eCfnblaVD6gCbJ6jEo9aFRBhT4guJJJ/s320/830-07-Lisbon.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Arty picture of dome in Vasco da Gama shopping centre, Lisbon</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />One entire floor of the centre is given over to restaurants, all are
chic and spotless, and also seen good value for money. We lunched at
a salad restaurant overlooking the river, consuming a huge plate of
lovely fresh salad vegetables plus peaches and grapes with chicken
and egg for 6.50 euros each, a very pleasant experience. Beyond the
Vasco da Gama centre you enter the Parque das Nações itself. It
wasn't very busy during the day in October but all the bars and
restaurants inside were ready to serve thousands. I believe it gets
much busier at night and at weekends and is open until midnight. But
the day was very hot, despite the time of year, so we hugged the
shade as we made our way through the concrete and marble park, past
many rectangular lakes, some with fountains, and all alive with many
thousands of dragonflies, linked in pairs mating over the water,
dipping their tails into the surface of the lake, skimming around as
if they will one creature with two sets of wings. They move so fast
that it is impossible to see them clearly. There are quite harmless
and, unlike our English wasps, so wrapped up in what they are doing
that they have no interest whatsoever in hanging around pestering
people. The park stretches for a couple of kilometres along the bank
of the Rio Tejo.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX70zDHsq_-ufSLTr7PihOhXa731Gi9ZrxfW-24Kx5llfeaRusm38vuuOWTMhpXCC4fyz5XHOmeEpos2x48HUsM7BiC5Qye2t7_PF4waDx4zcyaH4xuEG4wfriS-R3i5gWW5jpmMErPjxtTE7un0S_tziVR-UL3JQq1HybdsNeGenwhmeNBONG/s1280/830-06-Lisbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX70zDHsq_-ufSLTr7PihOhXa731Gi9ZrxfW-24Kx5llfeaRusm38vuuOWTMhpXCC4fyz5XHOmeEpos2x48HUsM7BiC5Qye2t7_PF4waDx4zcyaH4xuEG4wfriS-R3i5gWW5jpmMErPjxtTE7un0S_tziVR-UL3JQq1HybdsNeGenwhmeNBONG/s320/830-06-Lisbon.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Parque das Nações, gardens beside the Rio Tejo</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />It is still being developed as the greatest building
project in Portugal and beats anything we've seen elsewhere in
Europe. It really makes our government’s attempts at creating the
Millennium Dome look laughable. Now we wonder what to do with that
scrappy little site. Here there are museums, exhibition galleries,
the largest oceanarium in Europe, a cable car ride from one end of
the park to the other along with banks of the Rio Tejo, bikes for
hire to cycle around the complex. There is a science or knowledge
pavilion with interactive science and technology displays the huge
Vasco de Gama tower, the highest building in Lisbon with views over
the city from the restaurant at the top. There is an amusement park,
called the Sadrenalin park, a virtual reality pavilion about the Life
of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Luís
de Camões,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the national poet of Portugal. And visible from anywhere on the site
of course is the incredible bridge, the artery for much of the city’s
transport. Right along the riverfront there are attractive gardens
reflecting the Portuguese interests overseas. There are plants from
all three areas represented, all neatly labelled and we wandered
through some of these. That for the Azores for example has paths of
volcanic lava from Madeira passing beneath shady banana leaves
surrounded by palms and exotic plants. There were even a couple of
dragon trees there. We walked the stepping stones through the water
gardens, shallow lakes with terrapins and fishes. We played with the
water prism, a large triangular glass-sided cylinder filled with
water. It could be moved and angled in such a way that everything
around seen through the prism became rainbow hued, a really pretty
effect. We walked under, round and between endless numbers of
fountains, played with interactive sculptures which made sounds or
carried water, and found a life-sized statue of a white giraffe
admiring itself in a mirror. There is a section especially for
children and we watched the class of around twenty children aged four
or five, each identically dressed in check overalls and luminous
yellow workmen's jackets and each wearing orange safety helmets,
working together cooperatively on a building site with a truck on
rails, winches, a crane, scaffolding and polystyrene bricks It was
very amusing watching them decide who would do what and what needed
to be done. They loved it and they looked so cute, just like little
figures from a Lego set. All in all it was a brilliant time and we
were both so glad we went, although we nearly didn't as we didn't
expect it to be our scene. We did not go into the oceanarium or on
the cable car but with hindsight we should have done both. We were
anxious to see as much of his Lisbon as possible while we were there.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">So,
we returned to the centre of town. It was really close and humid and
the park of Edward VII seemed a good place to go. In fact it proved
to be made up of a large number of walkways offering little or no
shade. We both felt hot, bothered and exhausted, so we knew we would
hate walking around the exposed gardens. By now it was 4:00 p.m. and
busy with the build-up to the weekend. Buses and trams were all
packed and the bus pass we had was rejected when we tried to use it
at the Elevador de Santa Justa, the glorious iron structure intended
to lift passengers from one street level to another. It was designed
by a disciple of Eiffel and looked great fun. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqmK5j7HaV3oKeScd651ImCK5OWVEQmiSLYnFKxQfzE2oy7i3WbTh0VftuYssJdVgLG-QGFvQCsJe5pIUNNuINSuoIt_5KEMzdF6taR83DGgDvsQ98YYL5AoMBytyxQe9ZFD6pw_q163F-SV7JIww-589TjWMwhtFBFSMgU0jmCyFs0nC4oGK/s3449/830-09-Lisbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3449" data-original-width="2182" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqmK5j7HaV3oKeScd651ImCK5OWVEQmiSLYnFKxQfzE2oy7i3WbTh0VftuYssJdVgLG-QGFvQCsJe5pIUNNuINSuoIt_5KEMzdF6taR83DGgDvsQ98YYL5AoMBytyxQe9ZFD6pw_q163F-SV7JIww-589TjWMwhtFBFSMgU0jmCyFs0nC4oGK/s320/830-09-Lisbon.jpg" width="202" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Elevador de Santa Justa, Lisbon</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />However, because of
building works on the street above, it was just taking people up to
the restaurant of the top and didn't seem worth paying out four euros
for the ride, so we walked around to the little old funicular of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Elevador da Glória</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
which took us up to the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">São
Pedro de Alcântara</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
viewpoint from a shady park back across the city. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXicAyecBXBF-iwrglZ1FGncAHL3-WSEEx-LIo6p3pac40bThWcGxZC46dOTzAIR_NHULTvlxjYeAd_fBlWEG1hUWoQ6f0tus5eDiHdDQL8E_OgvkuzmZvrEny7fYBsNHk-FZ6WvlAt2oC2p16DYSdF-425XqBAI2XDe3FW23P4QFbzasJpBMk/s1280/830-01-Lisbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="1280" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXicAyecBXBF-iwrglZ1FGncAHL3-WSEEx-LIo6p3pac40bThWcGxZC46dOTzAIR_NHULTvlxjYeAd_fBlWEG1hUWoQ6f0tus5eDiHdDQL8E_OgvkuzmZvrEny7fYBsNHk-FZ6WvlAt2oC2p16DYSdF-425XqBAI2XDe3FW23P4QFbzasJpBMk/s320/830-01-Lisbon.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156; text-align: justify;"><i>Elevador da Glória, Lisbon</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />The air here was
much cooler and the old streets full of the unexpected. We spent a
while exploring and finally arrived at a little park at the top
surrounded by old shops and houses. In the park is an enormously wide
tree but not very high. It is evergreen and its branches are
supported on an iron framework beneath which are scattered dozens of
benches where people shelter from the heat and read or chat as
children play. Here too is a museum about water which recounts the
history of the building of the hugely impressive old aqueduct which
brought Lisbon its first fresh drinking water from the hills towards
Sintra around the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. There is also
a huge underground reservoir here but unfortunately for us it was
closed. So we contented ourselves with a coffee in the park and went
to seek out the botanical gardens. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
entrance turned out to be in a sadly decayed, rundown area of
abandoned large old houses and it all looked very closed although we
could see avenues of interesting trees through the rusty iron gates
which stated on a very old-looking label that the park was open.
However the gates were well and truly locked and there was nobody
around. So we made our way back down to the town and returned to
Saldanha with the metro. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Here
we investigated a couple of the marble shopping palaces with chic
bistros and restaurants in the basements and smart shops selling
fountain pens and cufflinks on the entrance floor. Above were offices
on six or seven floors. The building was air conditioned and
returning to the street meant being hit by a wall of heat even at
7:00 p.m. We had left our luggage with the lass at our hotel who had
kindly agreed to mind it for the day. We went to the supermarket and
purchased salads, cooked meats, yogurts and rolls for a picnic on the
bus to Faro, then collected our luggage and humped it to the bus
station teaming with students returning home for the weekend. It was
a good job we had already purchased our tickets. We left Lisbon
twinkling and glittering behind us at 8:30 p.m. recrossing the 10 km
bridge away from the city the Parque das Nações a blaze of light
along the riverside. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
journey should have taken four hours but the driver must have lived
in Faro and had the weekend off because three hours later we drove
into the bus station opposite the hotel we had used when we arrived
two weeks previously. It was a very strange feeling seeing a town we
had never really expected to see again. We shared a taxi out to the
airport with a couple of Russians from Moscow who had also been on
the bus back from Lisbon. They did a runner as soon as we reached the
airport the leaving Ian to play pay the bill, only ten euros in total
fortunately. Later they reappeared as if nothing had happened but
made no suggestion of sharing the cost. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The four of us were the only
people at the airport, everyone else being on packaged tours and
collected from their hotels at 5:00 a.m. We slept fitfully on cold
metal benches covered in flies, locked into the building. If we had
arrived much later we would have been locked outside until 5:30 a.m. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">From then on we had an uneventful journey home, arriving back in
Exeter at about 11:00 a.m. yesterday, and I am writing up about our
final day in our own green garden beneath a parasol in a sunshine as
bright as we've had in Portugal, softened by the colours of the trees
changing for autumn in pretty mix of browns, rusts, oranges, yellows
and the green of the pines. Silver birch leaves are scattered across
the lawn and all is totally peaceful, a complete contrast to the
permanent noise of the last couple of weeks. Birds are singing
continuously as they flutter amongst the shrubs, and squirrels
scamper along the bough of the copper beach tree before they leap the
gap to the branch of the birch on the other side of the lawn. We are
so lucky to have such a lovely garden to where we can come home. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p></div></div>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-37526394540935478162023-08-10T16:50:00.002+01:002023-08-10T16:50:24.855+01:00Portugal 2002. 3. Lagos, Albufeira and Sagres<p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Lagos
Portugal 28 September 2002.</b></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Seven
o’clock yesterday morning saw us boarding the bus in Seville for
Lagos where we arrived at 11:00 a.m. after travelling the monotonous
route along the motorway across the dry untidy-looking Spanish
countryside with frequent vistas of fruit and vine plantations.
Unfortunately the orange-yellow sandy soil filled with stones has the
natural appearance of builders’ rubble, which makes the countryside
look messy. The dryness of the soil and dried-out sparse vegetation
add to the general appearance of a barren landscape, neglected,
abused and abandoned. This stretches right across Spain and into
Portugal. Spain seems to be a massive building site, with
construction work going on everywhere, apartment blocks being put up
seemingly in the middle of nowhere with grey dirty grass and
scrubland surrounding a few whitewashed blocks of flats where, as far
as it was possible to reach, graffiti artists have been having a
field day. Portugal has less building works and slightly less
graffiti but it more than compensates for this in the
destroy-the-environment stakes by using the roadside verges and river
banks as rubbish tips. I cannot believe that the amount of horrid
litter and rubbish everywhere can be tolerated by the Portuguese
government. I remember being shocked in Hungary, but if anything this
is far worse. It makes you very appreciative of the beauties of your
own country; things taken for granted like green fields, hedgerows,
clean public toilets, clear road signs, gardens, clean pavements,
lack of litter and graffiti, no dogs running everywhere, decent shops
that sell what you actually want such as bread and fresh clean
vegetables rather than ceramic holy water containers and Portuguese
lace doilies. I dozed off after a while but whenever I woke the
landscape looked exactly the same. We stopped at Huelva, which didn't
inspire, nor did any of the other towns such as Albufeira and
</span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Portimão</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">,
but in fairness the bus stations are usually outside the old town
centre. As we got off the bus in Lagos we were approached by a man in
his sixties who spoke just enough English to ask if we needed a room
as he had one for 25 Euros a night. He gave us the address and seemed
nice. Everywhere in town was a lot pricier and noisy so we went to
his place near the church/mu</span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">seum
and police station. When we arrived he was quite upset, explaining in
a mixture of English and Portuguese that the room had already been
let to someone else. He then took us to his neighbour two doors down,
a smiling Portuguese lady who speaks no English. She agreed with him
to let us stay for as long as we like at the same price. We have a
clean room with our own wash basin and toilet but have to share her
shower. We also have a little balcony with table and chairs
overlooking the back road, which is cobbled and clean, no graffiti
and whitewashed walls. From up here we are at a roof level to the
baroque church of San Antonio – not of Padua but of Lagos, we have
been assured. Inside it is all gold-covered woodwork, both the gold
and the timber coming from Portuguese territories in Brazil. We can
sit drinking Portuguese wine just a few yards from the belfry and the
ornate entrance portico to the church – fortunately there is no
bell as tomorrow is Sunday. However, what last evening seemed a haven
of peace was rather noisy all night with cats prowling the roof tops
and mewing, and hundreds of very noisy seagulls screeching with the
dawn.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDj_b16p_PKHjREn-023ja_h5niIJE-RTpiYdSUtP4YhQ2XQa7m2i8G6R80Uw79p23oXmJCdAwUolyxSTz6fqmEMFPijz2TXc6ZUnYtrEAo88RzGmSERjx8oklb_UXEnhuVOTVgrL4grziwihguP9S5Jmsj0RbOWEvaLLC4GT0nXNJxlEtKnh/s1280/820-14-Lagos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1280" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDj_b16p_PKHjREn-023ja_h5niIJE-RTpiYdSUtP4YhQ2XQa7m2i8G6R80Uw79p23oXmJCdAwUolyxSTz6fqmEMFPijz2TXc6ZUnYtrEAo88RzGmSERjx8oklb_UXEnhuVOTVgrL4grziwihguP9S5Jmsj0RbOWEvaLLC4GT0nXNJxlEtKnh/s320/820-14-Lagos.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Our bed head, Lagos</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>There were also lots of people talking loudly all night in a
nearby street. We were so tired however that was slept through, only
dimly aware of the disturbance outside. Having helped the lady make
up the bed for us – it has an enormous carved and turned black wood
headboard and matching mirror – she gave us a key and then,
realizing we had left our coats in on the bus, we rushed back to the
bus station trying to work out how to explain the problem in
Portuguese as we hurried along. In the event Ian ready did manage it
in Portuguese, saying we had lost two coats this morning on the bus
from Seville. The tap in the ticket office said they had not been
handed in but that the bus was due to return to Seville in half an
hour. If we found the driver we could see if they were still on the
bus. We found the driver taking his siesta, stretched out asleep in
the bus. As the door was open, I slipped in and, sure enough, our
coats were still there. They have been excess baggage throughout most
of our holidays so far,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
but it was a relief to get them back.</span></span></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then
we found a pleasant restaurant and sat beneath umbrellas, having
mackerel salad and mixed omelette. What is disagreeable in Portugal,
and sometimes in Spain, is the cover charge which is forced on all
customers. We were obliged to pay two euros each for three slices of
bread between us, two pots of butter, a pot of fish paste and another
of cream cheese. This is obligatory, and actually cost more than the
omelette at </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">€</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">3.90.
You still had to pay if you didn't want it, so they were able to sell
the butter, cheese etc. several times over as they were all
pre-wrapped. It took pleasure from the meal, and we have now decided
not to eat out at all if we can avoid it. Portugal is definitely more
expensive than Spain, despite what the guide books may say</span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
– a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">t
least this part is. </span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Everywhere
is crammed with English and German tourists plus quite a few French
visitors, but there are not many Americans here. Every table around
us was full of English people who made no attempt to use the local
language at all, even saying thank you in English. They are perfectly
polite though, and the waiters were very helpful and friendly. We
felt rather silly working out what we wanted in Portuguese and
actually trying to read it off the menu to the waiters rather than
pointing. They understood okay of course, but that's their skill not
ours. [...]</span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lagos is a pleasant enough town, full of cafes, bars, souvenir shops and
restaurants. Nearby there are sandy beaches and unremitting sunshine.
All around is a parched barren landscape filled with the rubbish from
towns such as this, which seems to be scattered along all the
roadsides or dumped in fields. There seems little point in hiring a
car just to drive around from one tourist resort to another. The
coast is pretty, with island stacks and arches between little sandy
beaches, but to get there means walking through the heat to then bake
and get bored on the beach. Despite what the guidebooks say, buses
between resorts never connect up, and we would have enough within 30
minutes of arriving in most of the resorts along the coast here,
which are just apartment blocks and souvenir shops. We actually said
yesterday that we'd like to go home today if we could. So far it's
been good, but a week of this won't be fun. [...] At least our
accommodation is within a real local environment and the lady is
really nice [...].</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
discovered that yesterday was the day of international tourism, which
was something that was being taken very seriously in Lagos with a
special guided tour of the sites of interest in the town. We turned
up for it and were the only English people there, despite the town
swarming with them. There were around 20 Germans and a few Spanish.
The tour was given in English, and the Germans managed to follow
without difficulty. It says a lot for your average English traveller
I think – we should be ashamed of ourselves. Our guide was a
charming young Portuguese girl called Isabella. Her English was
excellent and very attractively phrased. She took us to the museum
full of archaeological exhibits of Roman, pre-Poman and Moorish
artefacts, an ethnographic room with information on the local fishing
industry – mainly sardine fishing – and agriculture, a model of
an imaginary Algarve village, a room of religious objects, tiles,
statues, a picture gallery of the works of local artists, a cabinet
of pickled foetuses and similar curiosities, such as a stuffed animal
with seven legs, also a collection of coins from around the world.
Then we visited the interior of the church by our balcony. It is now
a national monument and is entirely covered in blue and white
Portuguese tiles and huge carved wooden screens and altar, all
covered in gold leaf and full of bearded pink cherubs. There are
eight wall paintings depicting the miracles of Saint Anthony, talking
to fishes and fixing back the chopped off foot of a mad axeman. We
then went to the 16th century fort with a chapel to Saint Barbara and
a couple of art and photo galleries. There were maps, plans and
navigation charts representing the importance of Lagos in the
Portuguese voyages of discovery under the influence of Henry the
Navigator, the youngest son of the king of Portugal, who died in
1460. There is an important statue to him on the seafront as there is
to Gil Eannes, the first navigator to pass beyond Cape Bojador in
1434, confirming to the Portuguese that the world was not flat, thus
encouraging them to take the world lead in maritime exploration and
navigation. The fort gives excellent views out to sea across to the
harbour area and the river estuary as well as the long, sandy beaches
for which Lagos is famous. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Walking
back to town we passed the old slave market where, travellers helped
finance their exploration by bringing back African slaves to sell
here. At first they were captured by force but later purchased from
African tribal \hiefs who would sell off prisoners they captured in
fights with rival African tribes. Other nations started to bring back
slaves following the example of Portugal and it was estimated at his
peak during the 18th century between seven and ten million slaves
were shipped out of Africa. Destroyed most of the town indeed most of
the towns in Southern Portugal. That, coupled with the fact that
Portugal drove out the moors more rapidly than Spain managed to, has meant
there is far less evidence of the North African influence here. Earth
tremors here are very common though the last major one was in the
1960s. The sky had misted over a little by the time the tour ended
and we'd all been given little packs of beautifully wrapped marzipan
fruits and figs as a friendship gift for showing an interest in the
country's culture. Where we were really touched; the nice things
always outweigh the less agreeable things like cover charges. We
decided that, as we have to walk everywhere, now will be a wise time to
walk the three kilometres out to the Ponto de Piedade, a noted
beauty spot. It was worth the walk but we were pretty exhausted when
we got back. It is a sandy scrub-covered headland protruding south of
Lagos with excellent views in either direction along the coast with
its many sandstone aches and stacks. The cliffs themselves are
twisted and contorted by weathering and is impossible to walk along
them was ravines in the friable sandstone have developed by water
and erosion, leaving very deep chasms between which the walker has to thread his way. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAv_xuH94cHwJAc3ILBpL0g-Am3gB3cIfkwPX2rwyH9uj4z3gwtG7O3HuBdmQkNufK-cdjxGwKDat5GM_E7R3hFIlaw7fRN75MJLX3J3003eDEMqzoE--FdZvSvR8sc6Es6vz5NXisH6omdZwuNYQZd4mUrQN6dzR1TnKB7CN3oBziJjGIO2Am/s1280/820-13-Lagos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAv_xuH94cHwJAc3ILBpL0g-Am3gB3cIfkwPX2rwyH9uj4z3gwtG7O3HuBdmQkNufK-cdjxGwKDat5GM_E7R3hFIlaw7fRN75MJLX3J3003eDEMqzoE--FdZvSvR8sc6Es6vz5NXisH6omdZwuNYQZd4mUrQN6dzR1TnKB7CN3oBziJjGIO2Am/s320/820-13-Lagos.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Ponto de Piedade, Lagos</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We returned to town and, angry at the
thought of paying a cover charge for what would otherwise been a delightful supper in any of hundreds of restaurants, we bought wine ,rolls and ham with figs and a huge peach to share and returned for
supper on the balcony to our room. Around 8:30 we went into town and
joined hundreds of tourists in the main square with a statute of Don Sebastian, a boy king who came to the throne at the age of 14
in 1568 and led a disastrous battle against the Moors in Morocco in
1578 when he was defeated and killed. The statue is weird, modern in
design, it looks like a cartoon character of a teenage space girl. In
the square last night there was a display of Portuguese folk dancing
in national costume which was very good, with a happy atmosphere.
Even the half dozen stray dogs in the audience enjoyed it giving them
ample opportunity to sniff an endless supply of bottoms and scamper
amongst thousands of legs, any one of which might provide a suitable
post to urinate against. The folk dancing was followed by a concert
of Portuguese music performed by a youth orchestra. They were very
good but we left before the end as we were both exhausted after our
long day and our sore throats of Seville are now developing into full
blown colds.</div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>28
September 2002 continued</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
is now dark. Ia</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
gone out to get us some money while I clear up after our supper on
the balcony as the sunset in a scarlet sky.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today
has greatly improved our view of this corner of Portugal. Maybe we
have at last learned to relax and take things at face value. Mind
you, we have not done a great deal. It was misty and clammy this
morning until about 10:00 a.m. so we sat in the fog on the balcony,
eating figs and yogurt and writing up the diary. One of the most
useful things we have brought with us this holiday is the portable
device for heating water plus an adaptor plug and lots of Earl Grey
tea bags. Wonderful for breakfast and soothing away colds.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian
has just returned with money and asked the lady if we can stay two
more nights. She then invited us up onto her roof to explain the
layout of the town and to introduce us to her two Persian mix cats
with blue eyes. I suspect they are the ones that sing to us at night
from the roof, but they are very nice and friendly. The lady got
quite chatty and explained about belonging to the local history
society of Lagos and that she is a dressmaker by trade. We told her
we had been on the historical tour of the town yesterday and had
watched the folk dancing. Considering we don't actually speak either
Portuguese or Spanish, we all got along famously. For us it is such a
bonus to our holiday. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Today
has been spent around town. First we wandered up above the town away
from the tourist parts. There are lovely clean streets of little old
houses and the remains of an old church where Henry the Navigator is
buried. Above the town is a sports area and swimming pool with shady
palm trees and views out across the bay of sparkling blue sea. Then
we bought picnic things: salmon </span><span style="font-family: times;">pat</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: times;">é</span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
brown bread with sunflower seeds, olives, grapes and a huge peach to
share, plus a bottle of water. We sat on the bench under date palms
beside the harbour teaming with shoals of small fish, sardines
perhaps. Nearby a couple of old men made a lovely jolly racket with a
mouth organ and drum playing the same tune endlessly but with such
vigour and enthusiasm we gave them 50 cents to keep going. Meanwhile
luxury yachts and little fishing boats moved up and down between the
river mouth and the open sea. At one point we watched a reproduction
of one of the old slave trading sailing ships, a caravel, make its
way out to see and raise its sails as it set off for the horizon and
a voyage of discovery. It was called B</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">õ</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
Esperanza or Good Hope.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4cSobJv0d09SKBBEAGvDPy2TJ8NK7ZS-FUrgfVbAAAu7if3AklReq4OW2m9RDutvtzDbbQ73yUzOlA4BLKxEyRSC5wDteOEnBN1LfW5RHO8g7PexlM3ucZ_is4cE8TE0vBqW4d6nwZF8Fc0IKR12dhQBjzwqgoB8DS9tWrVM-u7OxFKJMYWH/s1280/820-15-Lagos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="925" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4cSobJv0d09SKBBEAGvDPy2TJ8NK7ZS-FUrgfVbAAAu7if3AklReq4OW2m9RDutvtzDbbQ73yUzOlA4BLKxEyRSC5wDteOEnBN1LfW5RHO8g7PexlM3ucZ_is4cE8TE0vBqW4d6nwZF8Fc0IKR12dhQBjzwqgoB8DS9tWrVM-u7OxFKJMYWH/s320/820-15-Lagos.jpg" width="231" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">B</span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">õ</span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a Esperanza caravel, Lagos</span></span></span></span></div><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">After
lunch we wandered on around the marina in the baking sun. I
discovered a free toilet, spotlessly clean but very odd. I have never
in my life seen loos with glass doors before! They were opaque, it's
true, but not sufficiently so by any means. Turning away one's gaze
from the doors out of respect, one encountered a glass mirror the
length of the room, so you still ended up seeing pretty well all that
was happening in the loos. There were several English ladies who also
found it very odd and amusing, and everyone good-naturedly made the
best of it. We then discovered the railway station and checked out
where we could reach by train. Not many journeys linked up however
and we would have had trouble getting back. We had a coffee on a
windy terrace overlooking the marina, which was lovely. Then we set
off across an arid wasteland of warehouses where seafoods are
processed and sold, either alive or frozen, to the hotel trade.
Eventually we found our way to the beach, an endless rim of pale fine
sand, sprinkled with pretty seashells all along the bay and gentle
waves breaking onto the beach where sea birds ran along the waterline
searching for seafood. It is easy to see why families choose to come
here; there is virtually guaranteed sunshine and beautiful clean
beaches with safe bathing in tepid, limpid water. If the rest of
Portugal were as clean as its beaches, it would really have much to
be proud of. Lagos is actually very clean and well kept, without any
graffiti, pretty tiled streets with lovely designs worked into the
tessellations: dolphins, octopuses, geometric shapes, all in natural
stones in black or white cut into irregular tessera about two inches
square, they are excellent. The buildings are rendered in white,
lemon or pink and are clean and well cared for. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">To
my amazement Ian took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his trouser
legs and positively scampered down to the beach to paddle. In my
bright multi-coloured sun hat – he had lost his in Faro - and dark
sunglasses he almost looked like everyone else except they had
swimwear or shorts. Still, it is practically a first in our married
lives. He kept going back to paddle again and even took off his
t-shirt. The rest of the time he snoozeed on the sand or made a model
of someone lying face down on the sand which caused some interest
among some Portuguese kids who wanted to jump on it. I got pretty wet
wading out to look at a shoal of sardines swimming up just a few feet
from the shore. I walked right up to them and they simply continued
swimming around me. Tomorrow I'm taking our swimming things out with
us. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Eventually
we returned to the town, crossing the river by little ferry boat to
avoid the walk past the fish processing area. Then to the bus station
to work out a plan for tomorrow. We also checked on possible car hire
but to have it from tomorrow and leave it at Faro airport on Saturday
morning would cost about £160. That's a lot of bus rides and even a
few taxis, so I think we'll have to make do without unless we can
find somewhere cheaper, maybe for three days only. At the supermarket
we bought bread, water, and wine plus some items for a salad supper
on our balcony. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
have spent a pleasant evening away from the tourist centre. It's
Saturday night so no doubt even here it will be noisy tonight. At the
moment though the only sound is of a cicada rasping away.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Sunday
29 September 2002.</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">After
a reasonably peaceful night we awoke at 7:00 a.m. and by 8:15 were at
the bus station in town to catch the early bus to Albufeira. Our host
was still asleep as we crept out, unlooking the door into the street
and scuttling off through the silent and deserted alleys, a lot
quieter at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday than it was at 4:00 a. m. when the
Saturday night clubs turned out. It was like having our own personal
taxi as far as </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Portimão.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
I think it's because the time tables are so fiendishly complicated
that even the Portuguese are nervous to go anywhere for fear of not
being able to sort out a connection back. The journey was along the
coast and more pleasant than the motorway route we've taken between
Seville and Lagos. There still remained a horrendous amount of
roadside rubbish however. By 9:20 we reached the main road above
Albufeira and were thrown off as the bus continued towards Faro. It
was miles down into town and we were seriously worried about walking
back up in the afternoon sun.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">However
when we'd reached the town a really helpful lass in the bus office
told us there is a free shuttle bus up and down which we had somehow
missed. My cold has come out as I was absolutely choking at the bus
journey and worried how I would cope with the day. I fantasized about
a cooked English breakfast and a mug of coffee, just just what my
system yearned for. Well, it transpired we had come to the right
place. The town centre was swarming with English, Dutch and German
tourists, and we had an enormous choice of places where we could have
a full English breakfast or a Dutch </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">uitsmijter</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
for four euros. Feeling highly embarrassed, we joined lots of other
English couples or families at a table with red check tablecloths
with ketchups and brown sauce already waiting, and ordered two eggs
,sausage, bacon, baked beans, tomato and toast with a couple of
coffees. Ian did try it in Portuguese, but the waiter was having none
of it. “It's all the same, you come here, that's what you get, it’s
all we do” we were told. It was very pleasant, I have to admit.
Just what my system wanted and I felt wonderful afterwards. All
around us everyone was English, even calling the waiter “son”. I
wonder what they made of it. I suppose they've all been to England on
training courses, they were certainly excellent. It seems visitors
are shipped in on package tours from Faro and spend a blissful couple
of weeks living on all day breakfast, Sunday roasts, fish and chips
and endless supplies of beer or cocktails with names like “orgasm”,
“barman's Delight”, “sex on the beach” and even “blow job”.
Fancy asking a waiter for an orgasm! There was specially imported
beer for the Germans and the supermarkets were full of German rye
bread, Sauerkraut and Bockwurst. For the Dutch there were </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Appelkooken</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and the Dutch football match on large screen tv. All in all, an
amazing experience to see what it is everyone goes for when they
arrive for a holiday abroad. By the look of the fried bodies on the
beach, it's a sun tan followed by all the food they eat at home. The
golden sandy beach was full of bronzed bodies, many very corpulent and
some young and sexy. Ian is now sunburned, having spent too long in
the sun sitting watching the topless sunbathers. The waves are
enormous, not good for swimming and most folk weren't really
interested in the sea, just the beach and the water line. Ian
paddled, even donning his swimming shorts, but didn't get wet above
the his knees. I did go in and spent most of my time being hurled
about by the breaking waves, hurtled shoreward beneath the foaming
crest of a breaker. Being whiter than everyone else on the beach, we
were beginning to burn so after an hour or so we left the beach with
its corpulent Brits and Germans mostly resembling lobsters and many
of them smoking - let's see which form of cancer gets us first lung
or skin. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRyifP5X2PUhygcSb-f1qsILC0UZ8rrMZaQMp_CneVccxNSEpKA5PciwMOe7JspWbBxbqZh_C3oVCpnaj9n93xGqWZJacq3_sedVaCey40GGma8Jnyph93atnbpft7pJpHu6nQhjqL7mgxFL_B5fDyB1X-U4cZH9a2xCMbYNabxtkcn2LgKy-C/s1280/820-17-Lagos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="822" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRyifP5X2PUhygcSb-f1qsILC0UZ8rrMZaQMp_CneVccxNSEpKA5PciwMOe7JspWbBxbqZh_C3oVCpnaj9n93xGqWZJacq3_sedVaCey40GGma8Jnyph93atnbpft7pJpHu6nQhjqL7mgxFL_B5fDyB1X-U4cZH9a2xCMbYNabxtkcn2LgKy-C/w105-h163/820-17-Lagos.jpg" width="105" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqsOK6BaOpgPvZMqro5NPkIv-Duec2AN4zp0HkMIwHFzIPGn-ntjF82f0YIt_UqgvXGh-mpgadYEnYQ3W5mxB2TdjP_S0EJMqaAhHzyYCS_57BQTJUTdrLvSqIpXoUVUxfRLJ8AxvlCQLDTPpfS28Sm0ViIT-PMcpbvA_v8dHtpiExC7koYOu/s1280/820-19-Lagos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqsOK6BaOpgPvZMqro5NPkIv-Duec2AN4zp0HkMIwHFzIPGn-ntjF82f0YIt_UqgvXGh-mpgadYEnYQ3W5mxB2TdjP_S0EJMqaAhHzyYCS_57BQTJUTdrLvSqIpXoUVUxfRLJ8AxvlCQLDTPpfS28Sm0ViIT-PMcpbvA_v8dHtpiExC7koYOu/w249-h167/820-19-Lagos.jpg" width="249" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Exeter's Great White Hope, Lagos</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Back
on the quay by the fishermen's beach under a shady canopy a timed
chess tournament was taking place. We spent a while enjoying the
shade and watching some fifteen simultaneous games taking place.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBmRlzoXcljHXYlTMQVuqIg7hT7YDBDl8boy54iNQWVuebzB7DkinsycBCq3JtByOkeN_XTS7vNiNMmnkNtWaJ_lSM33kH4I2IatA2R7gRdPkww-cOkQwAcA1jKh-ACW_ww81ACTZ1GqYa3uwvibmXQHE9oWZTwYRkAQjXCm-gZRYvmflNTSV/s1280/820-21-SAlbufeira.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBmRlzoXcljHXYlTMQVuqIg7hT7YDBDl8boy54iNQWVuebzB7DkinsycBCq3JtByOkeN_XTS7vNiNMmnkNtWaJ_lSM33kH4I2IatA2R7gRdPkww-cOkQwAcA1jKh-ACW_ww81ACTZ1GqYa3uwvibmXQHE9oWZTwYRkAQjXCm-gZRYvmflNTSV/s320/820-21-SAlbufeira.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Chess tournament, Albufeira</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>Albufeira used to be a little fishing port until it opted to lead the
way in tourism, at which it excels beyond anything we have ever
encountered. It was now happy hour: “buy one take two”. All signs
are in four or five languages and you are far less likely to hear
Portuguese than English or German. Old parts of the town do still
exist however, if you search for them. We discovered several shaded
backstreets with dogs asleep, children playing and washing hanging in
the street to dry. Generally though, it was too hot to explore and we
sought the shade. At 6:00p.m. we got the bus back to Lagos after a
happy and very informative day. Everyone got off at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>Portimão,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>
so we were the only passengers travelling onto Lagos. It was the same
bus and driver as this morning. On reaching Lagos we thanked him and
Ian told him it was our own personal taxi, which seemed to amuse him.
I guess otherwise the bus runs empty. It was 8:00 p.m. and dark by
the time we reached our home. Our landlady was out; she is still not
back at 10:00 p. m., should I worry about her? We let ourselves in,
showered, washed our hair, had supper and wine on our balcony and
planned tomorrow's activities.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGkAGXV6o2F64Nd9XS9kXf_iwquBRiJedpT1Yn74-fwtOmSvwDfbaGNzSyNbiQ6Y674uCTFwxtYz14cdy6JEwdBydfcJI_6G08wC8vRjB9N4e9X2Q_vCS0Edl4_2GCGPVOvPe-PMqfo2yjPGsaCbbIG-6HUUAQJYL3g2mXaggwR6DnDJi0c-A/s1280/820-20-Lagos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGkAGXV6o2F64Nd9XS9kXf_iwquBRiJedpT1Yn74-fwtOmSvwDfbaGNzSyNbiQ6Y674uCTFwxtYz14cdy6JEwdBydfcJI_6G08wC8vRjB9N4e9X2Q_vCS0Edl4_2GCGPVOvPe-PMqfo2yjPGsaCbbIG-6HUUAQJYL3g2mXaggwR6DnDJi0c-A/s320/820-20-Lagos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sunset from our balcony, Lagos</i></div><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">From our balcony we have a roofscape view of the town with many curious chimneys I found a postcard today illustrating several different styles which seem to be of Moorish design.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Yt8Kq_iwLENhgaNl0KUpIQEeICrkP0kOqSVwuq7yJvaKtP9dgqVgR6eH10yQMJzpzoVbXUvLGsDO_LMfLG_yTnf_wlTHb9dTRqrFS74UhbZf73fX4_yeZj0AvETmMDi_zF-lPehDDpTH9h2_b4yU-8AJdob5bbHr32bVuH4rEWBdaWPrkjlQ/s1280/820-20-Algarve-Chimneys-Michael-Howard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Yt8Kq_iwLENhgaNl0KUpIQEeICrkP0kOqSVwuq7yJvaKtP9dgqVgR6eH10yQMJzpzoVbXUvLGsDO_LMfLG_yTnf_wlTHb9dTRqrFS74UhbZf73fX4_yeZj0AvETmMDi_zF-lPehDDpTH9h2_b4yU-8AJdob5bbHr32bVuH4rEWBdaWPrkjlQ/s320/820-20-Algarve-Chimneys-Michael-Howard.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The chimney pots of the Algarve, postcard by Michael Howard, Albufeira</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">Monday
30 September 2002.</b></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our
landlady was still abed when we left this morning to catch the bus to
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Cabo
de São Vicente</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
(Cape St Vincent), a lonely headland at the far southwest corner of
Europe, the last land to be seen by Portuguese adventurers as they
left home to discover new lands, and also the first to be seen on
their return. It has an aura about it, despite the car park and the
tourists buying Bockwurst, churros, lager, t-shirts and woolly
jumpers - it gets quite cold and windy on the exposed headland.
Before boarding the bus at 10:00 a.m. we explored some of the narrow
back streets of Lagos which is a very pleasant town, quite chic and
very clean. We came across a lovely old church where mass was being
celebrated. The walls were tiled, as is the tradition, but otherwise
the large church was simply decorated with bare boards for flooring,
ostentatious church furniture. It was generally very pleasant,
surrounded outside by cactuses and geraniums. All the chimneys of the
old town are ornate and we have decided it's probably to prevent birds
nesting in them. Storks are very common here and love rooftops.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_zmY8tatna8_hgLyRPLHrHe3uxqggl1B9VSVnhx66_TJmrBf_veMe55I9DDx3SEC7L4XwjjUDpWI_l3o_05zZ0sBlMCz42YDMxY9F4e6gx2fEBETYFCBTvt4I2MuNd3wI2GFGTOoKDPREZm_NFU8vjgAFqszDzLoe_BpUG48r9YoFWc9Z9gH/s1280/820-22-Lagos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="1280" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_zmY8tatna8_hgLyRPLHrHe3uxqggl1B9VSVnhx66_TJmrBf_veMe55I9DDx3SEC7L4XwjjUDpWI_l3o_05zZ0sBlMCz42YDMxY9F4e6gx2fEBETYFCBTvt4I2MuNd3wI2GFGTOoKDPREZm_NFU8vjgAFqszDzLoe_BpUG48r9YoFWc9Z9gH/s320/820-22-Lagos.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">View toward the lagoon, Lagos.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
bus was completely packed with British and German tourists mainly
German. The countryside is far better cared for west of Lagos, and
with the Monchique hills in the distance is quite attractive. There
are very few trees, and little in the way of vegetation, a few
vegetable plots with pumpkins, a few vineyards, cactuses galore and
huge things with serrated leaves; we think they are aloe plants with
green fruits like badly developed small bananas, which must be aloes
of course. We may be completely wrong but we saw an advert for aloe
vera and it had one of these cactuses on it. There are no animals to
be seen in the countryside to speak of. I saw a few miserable horses
standing in grey fields with nothing living that they could eat. Ian
says he saw a pig but it was in a yard. As we neared Sagres the
countryside appeared barren and deserted with low scrubland like
Dartmoor at times but far less pretty. There was still the sandy dry
soil, full of rocks and fossils, that make it all so unattractive,
still too the horrid rubbish right along the roadside. How can a
nation be so regardless of how ugly it is? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Beyond
Sagres the road runs for six kilometers out to the Headland of Saint
Vincent with its fort, captured by Sir Francis Drake in 1587, and a
lighthouse surrounded by sea on three sides. Today there was a gentle
breeze and cloudy sunshine but it must be very desolate and windswept
in winter.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
cliff terrain is the hardest we have ever encounter to walk on. It is
limestone but totally contorted and twisted on its end so the ground
is just strips of limestone rock and you have to step from one to the
next with a severe risk of twisted ankles if you miss your footing.
We had intended walking the six kilometres back to Sagres but it will
be quite impossible on such inhospitable terrain, so we caught the
bus back an hour and a half later, which gave us ample time to admire
the headland with its offshore islands and flat topped cliffs falling
vertically down into the sea which surged in a froth of white foam at
their base. Back in Sagres we went down to the harbour to picnic.
There is not about to see or do at Sagres itself but we walked up
onto the south east headland across scrubby cliffs with heather,
dried up succulents and huge woody cactuses, crossed by stony yellow
footpaths with spectacular views along the coast in either direction.
We walked around the bay with its pretty yellow beach and out to the
south west headland, cut off by the fort of Sagres, also captured by
Sir Francis Drake. The fort is forbidding and looks more exciting
outside than within. We paid our three euros each and were able to
explore the rest of the headland as well as the fort itself with its
well preserved battlements and the huge navigation aid in the
courtyard, discovered in recent times. This is a vast compass rose
and is believed to have been used in training early navigators.
Prince Henry the Navigator is said to have founded a navigational
“think tank” at the fort. He also died somewhere at Sagres in
1460. The fort was interesting but the views were wonderful along the
coast and back across the cliffs and moorland to the hills beyond.
There were a couple of fenced of areas near the tip called “fumar”.
As we approached we could hear the roar of the sea. I imagine the
roof of a limestone cave collapsed some way inland from the mouth,
leaving a deep hole in the cliff top down to the sea below. We
couldn't see the sea, only hear it, and were too nervous to crawl to
the edge and peer over.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcxXGMDWV5FEA2DunFsHwzQvII2HQx9oTvS_0uJ_tr7qkFTkJV1WJiLg0YJU7tLoACBUNE2f-1epFLG8u7Rxp1XCAJL3WCluotoJXU2CQoVEyVxOKaAEJ5Hn6zROBqrYRTZM7n_i6H-OBzONo0gEMnU3-RHsY5gF5akt0K1BiGcwV27Kz0Y9j/s1280/820-23-Sagres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcxXGMDWV5FEA2DunFsHwzQvII2HQx9oTvS_0uJ_tr7qkFTkJV1WJiLg0YJU7tLoACBUNE2f-1epFLG8u7Rxp1XCAJL3WCluotoJXU2CQoVEyVxOKaAEJ5Hn6zROBqrYRTZM7n_i6H-OBzONo0gEMnU3-RHsY5gF5akt0K1BiGcwV27Kz0Y9j/s320/820-23-Sagres.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaxcjPoqUjalXuFHNs7_nuVr7t2G9mJfN_t4QYxTkf5qiUlqGygkl5H4mb-70juaQIGp9Ro-ZFE_Wcc3DE1NJCgI8xnItBrCYMu9uruxkbhtMQrh63YpH3Axrq77qWrh_WPEJlpAXwhhXKJwQEp6sQih9gKeXdgVw53SNr63jdabF8Mtj_XPA/s1280/820-24-Sagres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="907" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaxcjPoqUjalXuFHNs7_nuVr7t2G9mJfN_t4QYxTkf5qiUlqGygkl5H4mb-70juaQIGp9Ro-ZFE_Wcc3DE1NJCgI8xnItBrCYMu9uruxkbhtMQrh63YpH3Axrq77qWrh_WPEJlpAXwhhXKJwQEp6sQih9gKeXdgVw53SNr63jdabF8Mtj_XPA/s320/820-24-Sagres.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6ocu0rOk3zhd_v41YgOTUaNaqMYwdPY2Kol8BlGr948Ir8sOcgmpZ7BkfjuIqsFgcJwu9SYWOdvS-K5NMncqShy_zmy-6sbNy9Z0CpJ3LH3FdpdiiLJ4VYLmkvCDmGLXdz3R5sftQITkfgOgwlIGBZN4OE0OGzRG7k8ymAlQkn6V2O0F6k5S/s1280/820-25-Sagres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="902" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6ocu0rOk3zhd_v41YgOTUaNaqMYwdPY2Kol8BlGr948Ir8sOcgmpZ7BkfjuIqsFgcJwu9SYWOdvS-K5NMncqShy_zmy-6sbNy9Z0CpJ3LH3FdpdiiLJ4VYLmkvCDmGLXdz3R5sftQITkfgOgwlIGBZN4OE0OGzRG7k8ymAlQkn6V2O0F6k5S/s320/820-25-Sagres.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg20auIQ2l25ZjM6nT_D_zWcatoY7lQFqkwjBRYYS-zJiVYN-XKyNjvfwQVe5DZ8XMlq7jZU2CpHC2rkdN__NweDLU1GxUTtrOKpbjE8gn2pLAkkfy0t3bm-fsbjKsoCvJlMO3GZoIj6QyTxTwGaYlqWfB4lpO7mSu10wipQ6ka02CWOyAh0-3/s1280/820-26-Sagres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="830" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg20auIQ2l25ZjM6nT_D_zWcatoY7lQFqkwjBRYYS-zJiVYN-XKyNjvfwQVe5DZ8XMlq7jZU2CpHC2rkdN__NweDLU1GxUTtrOKpbjE8gn2pLAkkfy0t3bm-fsbjKsoCvJlMO3GZoIj6QyTxTwGaYlqWfB4lpO7mSu10wipQ6ka02CWOyAh0-3/s320/820-26-Sagres.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBPgIMOVXBmjRBmf1Q0eHJ08A_K9GRGLyONs1Org64YDHPnQwDURaaQZckmTfd75_R-UMDkhRaFWroGgW4TELGaK-U8bnKdRs2uUmLeWLd8MDWOaeWI52I6LwvHfW9ZylCE5k1fvy1IVIEStTRL3LQhhR_-bCC-hk6Hg7LGdLCxjSvAHzQ6R3/s1280/820-28-Sagres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="848" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBPgIMOVXBmjRBmf1Q0eHJ08A_K9GRGLyONs1Org64YDHPnQwDURaaQZckmTfd75_R-UMDkhRaFWroGgW4TELGaK-U8bnKdRs2uUmLeWLd8MDWOaeWI52I6LwvHfW9ZylCE5k1fvy1IVIEStTRL3LQhhR_-bCC-hk6Hg7LGdLCxjSvAHzQ6R3/s320/820-28-Sagres.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Views of Cape St Vincent, Sagres</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">All
in all a very pleasant day. We got the bus back at 5:15 p.m. reaching
Lagos at 6:15 p.m. where we bought tickets to go to Lisbon tomorrow.
Then we bought food for supper and returned to find a beaming happy
landlady. We told her what we had been doing since we last saw her.
It's astonishing how few words you need to explain things. She is
very nice and gave us her card in case we want to send friends to
stay in the future. Then we sat on our balcony, watching the gulls
screaming at the end of the day and drinking Portuguese red wine
until it started to rain, driving us indoors. Ian is now asleep and
I've showered and will now join him. Next entry will be from Lisbon.</div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18.6667px; text-align: justify;"></span><p></p>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-29194303059574133372023-08-10T14:41:00.005+01:002023-08-10T15:33:01.431+01:00Portugal 2002. 2. Seville and Carmona<p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Monday
23 September 2002, Seville, Spain.</b></p><p>
</p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
need not have worried about our early departure as we arrived at the
bus station just across the road from our rooms in plenty of time to
join the knot of school children buying tickets, acquire our tickets,
lose one of them, retrieve it from under a seat, buy and consume
coffee and croissants before the bus arrived. We retraced our journey
of the day before, missing the smaller stops then beyond Tavira to
Villa Real de San Antonio, then striking a little way in land
skirting the salt flats of the river </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="es-ES"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Guadiana,
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which
forms the border between Spain and Portugal, and over a grand
suspension bridge, the</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="es-ES"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Puente
Internacional del Guadiana, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">into
the little town of Ayamonte where we changed buses, our passports
unexamined. The other coach, also run by the EVA bus company, was a
swish double decker from Lagos with a group of young Americans on
board. In fact we were by far the oldest on the bus. They listened to
music on their portable CD players and dozed as we sped along the
motorway through a parched landscape of orange trees, olives, vines,
pine forests and scrubland to Seville. The countryside looked far
more cared for than in Portugal, with less heaps of rubbish, but we
did notice shanty dwellings as we drew into Seville which sprawled
across the plain with its graffiti-covered underpasses.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>We
drew into an enormous bus station by the Plaza de Armas, a railway
station converted into a shopping centre. Ian made a brief excursion
to see the best direction to lug our cases in search of rooms, it was
a humid 23 degrees centigrade, but only found one full hostel near
the bus station. The information kiosk there however provided not
just timetable information but also a plan of the city and the card
of the Hostal Jentoft in the nearby Benidorm Street with 60 rooms at
unbelievably low prices. We booked two nights at 24 Euros for a
double room without shower. We soon discovered some of the reasons
for its cheapness - no plug no hot water the hot tap wasn't even
connected. Still, it was clean and our water heater could do its
stuff for us. Then, settled in by 2:00 p.m., we set off to see the
sights of Seville. Plunging into the side streets in the El Arenal
quarter, we found a shaded street with tables and a lady who handed
us on to her son when she realized we were English. He cajoled us
into a plate of olives and capers which we washed down with beers
while waiting for chicken paella and spinach with chickpeas. The
latter turned out to be seafood paella which, to his great relief, we
accepted. With a full stomach we turned the corner to find the huge
gothic and Renaissance pile which made up Seville Cathedral, surely
one of the largest churches in Christendom. When Seville was captured
from the moors in 1248 it was converted from a mosque which had been
built the previous century. In the 15th century the main part of the
mosque had been demolished and the huge gothic nave constructed. The
minaret became the bell tower (Giralda) and another Moorish part survives in
the court of the orange trees, the brick channels which once carried
cooling water now dry and a hazard hazard to unaware pedestrians.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwgP1KRZE0dr4e89B17dBqODIOUwe07oDmG7S6LfAUSEns9E8J5Aake8_4DF7Z711dpfBmCGXa4En1VEqo1ngibZ5zSGbihR2XqX-NfVc9RT72OX-_CX69YY6kaB5eHvByQFccedUUE3lw936eUFsLcU0_sj5RpqYkfyp_cUFp4d6Hb0OlXGB/s1280/810-24-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="835" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwgP1KRZE0dr4e89B17dBqODIOUwe07oDmG7S6LfAUSEns9E8J5Aake8_4DF7Z711dpfBmCGXa4En1VEqo1ngibZ5zSGbihR2XqX-NfVc9RT72OX-_CX69YY6kaB5eHvByQFccedUUE3lw936eUFsLcU0_sj5RpqYkfyp_cUFp4d6Hb0OlXGB/s320/810-24-Seville.jpg" width="209" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><i>Giralda, Seville Cathedral</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
minaret can be climbed by a continuous ramp with 34 turns which rises
over 50 meters to the Renaissance belfry perched on top of the
Moorish minaret. A remarkable piece of architecture, largely in
brickwork, which affords excellent views over the city across the
roof of the main part of the cathedral. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mBP9k67CbqsumI_k4QjbtRx7NVl3WFQTCKAXifogsyPcV2LXpIkS7otQ-_6KIemMZ3IXNd8csGrkHZu4G7Rrxln_YRbHXcgVFmgmxSEpnBGazBsFBJjQhXP0K0qZ1APUMn6VuSGNEOdFUyD_73OCNr0D9F1CMFGUZ9QUwgGa6qeeb-0KDGFn/s1280/810-28-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mBP9k67CbqsumI_k4QjbtRx7NVl3WFQTCKAXifogsyPcV2LXpIkS7otQ-_6KIemMZ3IXNd8csGrkHZu4G7Rrxln_YRbHXcgVFmgmxSEpnBGazBsFBJjQhXP0K0qZ1APUMn6VuSGNEOdFUyD_73OCNr0D9F1CMFGUZ9QUwgGa6qeeb-0KDGFn/s320/810-28-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>Bells in Giralda, Seville</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStA8UeXyZRPzo1j3CCMp0pxXtxWBBnM7SukYoIVFYFjzf8iB1NC4aVa0CU_UAXh7y0dtfOVLX-GP8sGTi5I2mFajZTR_ThTXgrm6U6mVeksAi0xhEaRmC2ay_xxjsQoo98cPe-KMuIOO_da_Jvz2LqLVH-4TYLc6q28fG0_eJGj5diD7SO8gO/s1280/810-27-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="863" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStA8UeXyZRPzo1j3CCMp0pxXtxWBBnM7SukYoIVFYFjzf8iB1NC4aVa0CU_UAXh7y0dtfOVLX-GP8sGTi5I2mFajZTR_ThTXgrm6U6mVeksAi0xhEaRmC2ay_xxjsQoo98cPe-KMuIOO_da_Jvz2LqLVH-4TYLc6q28fG0_eJGj5diD7SO8gO/w161-h239/810-27-Seville.jpg" width="161" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWs-lCiD7UfgcTIkWXl2tmyosU8pnSW27R29_mPIMsegDah1kvR4BvO5GkkzBu0HvO4MBMENOv5RVn5GGzJEd_vmzu4lRY6B0-bXNWEczNnVB7vGW6-UwZk2yn-DfmKthQj8FMGz_4XWrozgiF8tDCrwqJzKzCWKIayKA0FCxxSUvqdxL6hsrT/s1280/810-26-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="863" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWs-lCiD7UfgcTIkWXl2tmyosU8pnSW27R29_mPIMsegDah1kvR4BvO5GkkzBu0HvO4MBMENOv5RVn5GGzJEd_vmzu4lRY6B0-bXNWEczNnVB7vGW6-UwZk2yn-DfmKthQj8FMGz_4XWrozgiF8tDCrwqJzKzCWKIayKA0FCxxSUvqdxL6hsrT/w158-h234/810-26-Seville.jpg" width="158" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>Views from top of Giralda, Seville - to right into cloister garden</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Inside the main part, the
Renaissance and later the baroque pour the wealth derived from the
Indies into ever more extravagant decoration. Altars dripped with
gold and alabaster, and carved wooden organ cases squirmed their ways
up into the gothic vaults. Columns could not be left plain or simply
fluted but swarmed with bas reliefs of figures and foliage. Masters
such as Murillo and Zurbaran were called in to provide altar
paintings or murals for the remarkable oval chapter house. The 19th
century played its part with a tomb for Christopher Columbus
supported by four larger than life figures in tabards. In the
treasury were solid gold chalices, monstrances, vestments,
reliquaries. But some of the most striking things were the simplest:
the pre-Moorish inscription recording the installation of the bishop
who succeeded the famous Isidor of Seville in the seventh century,
the banner that was flown when Seville fell to the Christians, the
bundle of documents that provided the evidence for the canonization
of Fernando III in the 17th century. We left the cathedral and made
our way through the Juderia in the Alcazar to the Gardens of Murillo
with their tile seats, fountains, and the remarkable monument to
Columbus with a galleon supported by two columns. Then on to the
Plaza de Espa</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ñ</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a,
an enormous brick edifice with tile pictures illustrating the history
of the various Spanish provinces which was erected for the Latin
American Exhibition of 1929. It was in the form of an enormous
semicircle with a curved canal in front crossed by bridges with
balustrades made of painted ceramics. In the courtyard horse drawn
carriages circled or waited for customers. The whole thing was a
little shabby, the ceramics broken and pigeons nesting above the
grand central staircase, a problem with so many of these grand
exhibition buildings. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfHfALjXifOJ9TwPGxfH4yHF8u8PJnf7KzJ5E6qAgrc_htR5Mv3KxSta7OIvjfVmqCrBv_yXHgi6gyCQgK2sjrjwvmTOOjsU7ujL040woIMR1P9GI_x5swB_zOqu1yery2Ubojn6kTqYD2PmcKE0mi9Jt-sKBQ9wvRzPfzmOB4b-ZuEzKuhzu/s1280/810-30-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfHfALjXifOJ9TwPGxfH4yHF8u8PJnf7KzJ5E6qAgrc_htR5Mv3KxSta7OIvjfVmqCrBv_yXHgi6gyCQgK2sjrjwvmTOOjsU7ujL040woIMR1P9GI_x5swB_zOqu1yery2Ubojn6kTqYD2PmcKE0mi9Jt-sKBQ9wvRzPfzmOB4b-ZuEzKuhzu/s320/810-30-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0hDAtgD8k4wYs1LxrqDYo6u-HeHSYjwmfvz-VwpkQzRx5PQZtjiZuJUbjwD3mCs7g7gkjcm7QfHuj3uqqTtqsD0Gtqvq2_03-JjhUzAXXNkJrX_rHDQupuaagihyC6cPcBomIx699BWMXUQI2IJD-UOagNkGgXzZwJNYQmyOOIJTWtAai9Rsh/s1280/810-29-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1280" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0hDAtgD8k4wYs1LxrqDYo6u-HeHSYjwmfvz-VwpkQzRx5PQZtjiZuJUbjwD3mCs7g7gkjcm7QfHuj3uqqTtqsD0Gtqvq2_03-JjhUzAXXNkJrX_rHDQupuaagihyC6cPcBomIx699BWMXUQI2IJD-UOagNkGgXzZwJNYQmyOOIJTWtAai9Rsh/s320/810-29-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Two views of the <span style="background-color: white; color: #3d4449; font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">Plaza de España, Seville</span></i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We walked round the Maria Luisa Park which also
had areas cordoned off for restoration. There were lakes, tiled
fountains, one with a circle of ceramic frogs, and at the far end the
Plaza de America, lined with three further exhibition pavilions in an
eclectic mix of styles, two of them housing museums. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwsMVSL40XQI_oB7myBa2fO2UkIRvOjwphz6IndMDS0EIejSub4M8xn7aCm5m8e4z-8LOPefgUMB08NGnzOC3WpApJbSgQewxjJ_wh18AGEmS7-_mfeQKZRZp5ImykUrMF5MtqJ5sPfMt0Ld3UMvtp3iF4QLhE16MxKiCqPc5YpUYFnypBc4n/s1280/810-31-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="1280" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwsMVSL40XQI_oB7myBa2fO2UkIRvOjwphz6IndMDS0EIejSub4M8xn7aCm5m8e4z-8LOPefgUMB08NGnzOC3WpApJbSgQewxjJ_wh18AGEmS7-_mfeQKZRZp5ImykUrMF5MtqJ5sPfMt0Ld3UMvtp3iF4QLhE16MxKiCqPc5YpUYFnypBc4n/s320/810-31-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>In the Maria Luisa Park, Seville</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Our way back
took us along the banks of the Guadalquivir river laid out with
promenades from where a boat was leaving for an evening river cruise,
past the Torre del Oro and the bullring back to our hotel, too
exhausted to venture out for an evening meal. Half a bottle of wine
and anaesthetised us against the steady roar of traffic from the
eight lanes where an underpass emerged just beneath our hotel window
and we slept the sleep of the blessed.</div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Tuesday
24 September 2002</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Bless
Ian for writing up the events of yesterday. Personally I have felt
unwell ever since we arrived in Seville and am putting it down to air
quality. I've had severe ear, nose and throat disturbance that seem
to imply the outbreak of a violent cold that doesn't arrive. I felt
somewhat better yesterday in the Maria Luisa Park away from the
traffic, but bad again as soon as we returned to the town. I'm
completely dosed up on paracetamol and am blessing our little
portable water heater that permits us endless supplies of
surreptitious Earl Grey tea to lubricate my throat.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
was still dark when we got up at 7:30 this morning. All the traffic
shone their headlights on the way to work; Spain is an hour ahead of
Portugal which has the same time as the UK. From darkness to hot
sunshine is a matter of minutes, as is the rise in pollution levels.
We must keep as far from roads as possible today. One thing that is
wonderful for travelling is that, with the introduction of the euro,
it makes no difference which country we are in and it is so much
easier to compare prices. Spain is supposed to be more expensive than
Portugal but so far our impression has been the opposite. Our room is
over an eight-lane motor route through the center of Seville but it's
cool and has tripled glazing plus shutters, so the constant roar
becomes a soothing hum, which I find easier to contend with than
drunkards and barking dogs. Here we are playing 24 euros a night for
a clean modern room plus an extra euro each for use of the spotless
efficient showers down the corridor next to the equally clean loos.
In Faro we paid 45 euros for a very clean and pleasant room with
en-suite bathroom. I think this is far better value, and it is only
minutes away from the bus station and the main sites of the town.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>8:15
p.m. Tuesday evening.</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
are in our room drinking wine but will be off out shortly to attend a
flamenco evening at the Museum of Memories where we have been promised
an outstanding performance from a young Spanish guitarist. I hope
there'll be some dancing too. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
is no way that I can do justice to a day such as we have just spent.
It is a must in the life of anyone wishing to travel in Europe to see
the Alcazar of Seville. First though we went to the old railway
station of Cordova, opposite the bus station in Seville. It has now
taken on a new life as a chic shopping precinct with a supermarket in
the basement and a cartoon cinema and coffee shops on the top floor,
the main shops being on the ground floor. It is a beautiful building
and the single-seater aircraft suspended from the roof at each end,
silhouetted against the Moorish style stained glass windows, gives
some idea of the large scale of the place.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjut2nopbsFcrChVVLv5Hcd1zIwrCpSjagGdhB5uL1TITuYCi7YGSvXrZMyT-qwUPnIjougFFnug3KiLTglBzjTSLGQPk1gntB8g-5HyZ8Py_CDekxePOqrAj3eYN2d9gVu7vWHGagpzUbL5onmTJKMVNMz58dfZCeAggWPHsV0OtSCnBa7Oy84/s1280/810-32-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1280" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjut2nopbsFcrChVVLv5Hcd1zIwrCpSjagGdhB5uL1TITuYCi7YGSvXrZMyT-qwUPnIjougFFnug3KiLTglBzjTSLGQPk1gntB8g-5HyZ8Py_CDekxePOqrAj3eYN2d9gVu7vWHGagpzUbL5onmTJKMVNMz58dfZCeAggWPHsV0OtSCnBa7Oy84/s320/810-32-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Shopping precinct in old Cordova Station, Seville</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
walked through to the area around the cathedral, exploring the shady,
narrow cobbled alleys with their ceramic and craft shops in the Santa
Cruz area, with outdoor pavement cafes wherever they could be fitted
into the little courtyards and squares from which the alleys lead. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">From
there we explored the attractive cool gardens with their tiled
pathways, clipped hedges, fruiting citrus trees, orange, lemon,
grapefruit, all as yet unripe and deep green in colour. Wherever
possible, tiny fountains bubble beneath the tall palm trees, offering
ample shade from the already hot sun on Moorish style tiled seats. We
settled on one of these seats to eat a banana and brown roll we had
purchased at the supermarket by the station. It was interesting just
people watching as all the many different nationalities passed by in
couples, or more frequently in large groups following their guide who
waved an umbrella and gabbled in whatever they hoped was the language
of their tour group. We couldn't understand much of the guide
speaking English, attractive as it sounded, so I doubt the others
were any clearer.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Eventually
we stopped as a little square for lunch. The dish of the day was four
euros, for which we got tuna, onions, eggs, olives and potatoes in a
mixed salad with bread and wine under a shady umbrella surrounded by
a crowd of interesting company. Then we went to the old tobacco
factory, an enormous building that now houses part of the Seville
University. The original at tobacco factory formed the setting for
Bizet’s opera Carmen. With our quirky sense of luck, they just
happened to be filming a version of the opera in the courtyard and
for some reason didn't stop us walking in on rehearsals accidentally.
We were asked to stand with a few other folks out of the line of the
cameras and watched with interest as beautiful Spanish girls in
costume filled pitchers from the fountain in the courtyard and rustic
looking young men walked around with baskets of tobacco leaves.
Meanwhile horses stood in the shafts of carts loaded with sacks and
hessian covered parcels of tobacco, and handsome young Spaniards in
soldiers’ uniforms of an earlier age wielded swords and charged
about with bayonets fixed to their rifles. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST971R06nxaH2a2xvSu5ZbadX6E-nsoFc9yP_ZBpBKr4ZC-2F9bju2LLniBLxEdxq-LOEQ1hv_QGmvagrNEt3F3lt2bS-WRo652-Oa7hTJTaB-FYO4BB0JVd4j5t0enjslKjBXnqtVTDwECE9kw9_jDHp9Ij20gl0S-WIzZ4Jgb5NJ7vA1T22/s1280/810-33-Seville.jpg" style="font-style: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="847" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST971R06nxaH2a2xvSu5ZbadX6E-nsoFc9yP_ZBpBKr4ZC-2F9bju2LLniBLxEdxq-LOEQ1hv_QGmvagrNEt3F3lt2bS-WRo652-Oa7hTJTaB-FYO4BB0JVd4j5t0enjslKjBXnqtVTDwECE9kw9_jDHp9Ij20gl0S-WIzZ4Jgb5NJ7vA1T22/w103-h156/810-33-Seville.jpg" width="103" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qWC2eYZEOS1sdPZnbT7a005-1tPw5Dm7lKgiXIBy9SqrmHu9mJmgxdSH6Wn2nER4uZPlm1MY2W8i5B7qj1JDD2lWDvJ5V8u5eaW3aNgOPWu0j0IKhPzpJcaJH36YW9Jljw3WEjdSzJ_fLX8864UyT73pJEHQ8NydFz9nXMgfDMQtYG6imZG2/s1280/810-34-Seville.jpg" style="font-style: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="836" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qWC2eYZEOS1sdPZnbT7a005-1tPw5Dm7lKgiXIBy9SqrmHu9mJmgxdSH6Wn2nER4uZPlm1MY2W8i5B7qj1JDD2lWDvJ5V8u5eaW3aNgOPWu0j0IKhPzpJcaJH36YW9Jljw3WEjdSzJ_fLX8864UyT73pJEHQ8NydFz9nXMgfDMQtYG6imZG2/w102-h156/810-34-Seville.jpg" width="102" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrvYGkq-bI5LllZLVcsL6i0GTdEPJyAJQtQVsfaRnKjrJt_1KFX0X_kISM3QK-AGAkxboE4FUW3sSd0sdyK79jTueTqaX5qC9JLHZZdzLmxtszJVXIdZ4U7N6sFEwQ2ZBzUJwppbUVRwWn1iZ11rXvavcaFYn9_iGNW3e6VEC6fjaeeahJszx9/s1280/810-35-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="845" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrvYGkq-bI5LllZLVcsL6i0GTdEPJyAJQtQVsfaRnKjrJt_1KFX0X_kISM3QK-AGAkxboE4FUW3sSd0sdyK79jTueTqaX5qC9JLHZZdzLmxtszJVXIdZ4U7N6sFEwQ2ZBzUJwppbUVRwWn1iZ11rXvavcaFYn9_iGNW3e6VEC6fjaeeahJszx9/w100-h151/810-35-Seville.jpg" width="100" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Rehearsing for Carmen in the old Tobacco Factory, Seville</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Later
we wandered the vast corridors of the former factory, crowded now
with the young students clutching bags of books on their way to the
philosophy lectures. The walls were crammed full of posters, there
were statues in niches, huge winding staircases and several tiled
courts with fountains and benches around the walls where students sat
and read.</div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
long queue to enter the Alcazar was much shorter now, so we joined it
and for five euros each had the experience of a lifetime. We had not
read up much about it but our impression is that it dates originally
from the 14th century and was commissioned by Christian rulers, based
on the mudejar Moorish style with specially commissioned Moorish
craftsman to create it. It is cool inside despite the heat of the
day, dark and shady with the most stunning carved ceilings, walls and
door frames. Moorish tiles cover the walls in a riot of mosaics, all
perfectly cut and interlocking in complex geometric designs. It is
all so different from anything I've ever seen that I can honestly say
that I felt quite overcome, and very near to tears with the sheer joy
of looking at it and the urgent desire to emulate it in some way.
Elsewhere of course it would look quite wrong, but here it was
stunning. Keyhole shaped archways, delicate columns with ornate
capitals, carvings of roundel shapes, figures, birds, animals, Arabic
texts, all were there, but it was the tiles that stunned me most. In
Portugal the house fronts were tiled in modern attempts to reproduce
this style and they were hideous. Here they are absolute perfection
but only because they are here; in the ceramic shops and doorways of
the town they lose their splendour. The buildings of the Alcazar also
had chambers of tapestries, paintings, Moorish art and decoration. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN30_LB0gUhzixYKpfCE8Wj3BsoxXB67R5wOVF7r7XR3osjO9aOx4_pz62SWX3_om3O4EnHHDlVwLHILfAlcD9cpN91zXoGPoq6DJoq6FAK3uwRL0qPFHw5cDZHcD8_s4WKZ6p0DawRoZY7US9PtyugECz0Ki3qyL1Ef_K4FGNRjWwtEvlRAtb/s1280/820-01-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="826" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN30_LB0gUhzixYKpfCE8Wj3BsoxXB67R5wOVF7r7XR3osjO9aOx4_pz62SWX3_om3O4EnHHDlVwLHILfAlcD9cpN91zXoGPoq6DJoq6FAK3uwRL0qPFHw5cDZHcD8_s4WKZ6p0DawRoZY7US9PtyugECz0Ki3qyL1Ef_K4FGNRjWwtEvlRAtb/s320/820-01-Seville.jpg" width="207" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHJlWfk0HxN1OeDL7Q2OLrdqUw9_zqbdzK_AEWpbwhQp1FfF-q4zHj1a7Z0YM3XbII4cn47-buZGYv8XZYRZSeVu-MpjS0W5xJgJxYaF7QDyiyoNZrFbXKzAcVoXL8YdCQSGH-ko-bL1DdtepGrMVna5-wlhj0nleVqr-PzkYidE8qF6-uNKE/s1280/820-02-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1280" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHJlWfk0HxN1OeDL7Q2OLrdqUw9_zqbdzK_AEWpbwhQp1FfF-q4zHj1a7Z0YM3XbII4cn47-buZGYv8XZYRZSeVu-MpjS0W5xJgJxYaF7QDyiyoNZrFbXKzAcVoXL8YdCQSGH-ko-bL1DdtepGrMVna5-wlhj0nleVqr-PzkYidE8qF6-uNKE/s320/820-02-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4FGYXu1qBYpdfGpyN9Abe3qoqF1oC-NTubtgMhM_3iYAxTNrWN36S4zgbf-qwhyE0_oNmNkhANY-8ICDlGCkZEVIo-2PUNC9qXx7DrzaSJ-6PSSCrH4qNx31lbFAVRDNlhI3hi4Tm0d_FOJyTvlPyhj617kJYsjTPqBehwKyCd2M0g6B6Heb/s1280/820-03-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1280" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4FGYXu1qBYpdfGpyN9Abe3qoqF1oC-NTubtgMhM_3iYAxTNrWN36S4zgbf-qwhyE0_oNmNkhANY-8ICDlGCkZEVIo-2PUNC9qXx7DrzaSJ-6PSSCrH4qNx31lbFAVRDNlhI3hi4Tm0d_FOJyTvlPyhj617kJYsjTPqBehwKyCd2M0g6B6Heb/s320/820-03-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5e13o7qtj8L3cqx36e89BwGhy3MRZt2Bafw5GIgOHIA_VeXW7EB955cOJwbRiz1Ji3dJovD2kqbBVEF6gvAfNzF3chQrYzJ6A5m1oj__7PARdFWtLfhPsZX31mwWNaF3q1KiBPkJx8ObahDr0enHx8r6_7ttQhY9leDnGxoT0NydAH4_FuG1/s1280/820-04-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="840" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5e13o7qtj8L3cqx36e89BwGhy3MRZt2Bafw5GIgOHIA_VeXW7EB955cOJwbRiz1Ji3dJovD2kqbBVEF6gvAfNzF3chQrYzJ6A5m1oj__7PARdFWtLfhPsZX31mwWNaF3q1KiBPkJx8ObahDr0enHx8r6_7ttQhY9leDnGxoT0NydAH4_FuG1/s320/820-04-Seville.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Interior views of the Alcazar, Seville</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Large keyhole shaped archways led on to shaded courtyards of
patterned tiles with fountains playing and filled with citrus trees,
oranges, grapefruits and pomegranates, syringia and other pretty
flowering shrubs cling to the walls and stone tiled seats offer cool
resting places to recover, consolidate and build up energy for the
next experiences. </div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-6WAFBmklsyc5Ng1qxIsVzVNUIv3dLJvbgpT-iChG1n4OcJ4RbD4quODK2jMQZN3UUwLeOQkDTs2K0h1xLxRQhBas-4Vqz9aCsCF3v-1VJzK2TdeJqgDstO3ZgLiVQwAu9WmIkFrwi8wqBXmPhfz6I-K7Lb0IiU-fxNM875nwuDRO_CacT4S/s1280/820-08-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1280" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-6WAFBmklsyc5Ng1qxIsVzVNUIv3dLJvbgpT-iChG1n4OcJ4RbD4quODK2jMQZN3UUwLeOQkDTs2K0h1xLxRQhBas-4Vqz9aCsCF3v-1VJzK2TdeJqgDstO3ZgLiVQwAu9WmIkFrwi8wqBXmPhfz6I-K7Lb0IiU-fxNM875nwuDRO_CacT4S/s320/820-08-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxMtdJKnl4H47mnkRYnR-FaClJTC-b6fPu5FP790Eh2Wi0EhEmCdwb1-w3RQ3eS6r0uTyFF3p2EKyM5d8p7GzYak02fDtW339qBTMQlNzhO_2lfIumel-Vds7KPZECkbiQT2-G4eqK4JsfUaSGGmcqsjKC6MqwELkz4gpaZWyxV_M_NpuWlJf/s1280/810-37-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxMtdJKnl4H47mnkRYnR-FaClJTC-b6fPu5FP790Eh2Wi0EhEmCdwb1-w3RQ3eS6r0uTyFF3p2EKyM5d8p7GzYak02fDtW339qBTMQlNzhO_2lfIumel-Vds7KPZECkbiQT2-G4eqK4JsfUaSGGmcqsjKC6MqwELkz4gpaZWyxV_M_NpuWlJf/s320/810-37-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Courtyards in the Alcazar, Seville</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">There were hundreds of Gardens, it seemed, each
magnificent, with flowing water everywhere making a peaceful cooling
sound in the heart of this busy City. Potted plants lined balustrades
above the gardens, with aspidistras in huge tabs - I really must
repot mine when I get home.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZSC26h3Tr1e-iWjrS0jXc9snJHqqXjQV-vsgKXBMJ_HQmMOw8xqm1WmW_n714IVOq5N9qmskmZ-iAQ90nbZgroMB6c5SrGnaTNaBet3tn0q49l96VPRuTmxiU2vhEaLLvzw8kn-uE6tL3NuSjOphPsjBMHz8MK-YSevnDeVR-srpVUG6_na5/s1280/820-09-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZSC26h3Tr1e-iWjrS0jXc9snJHqqXjQV-vsgKXBMJ_HQmMOw8xqm1WmW_n714IVOq5N9qmskmZ-iAQ90nbZgroMB6c5SrGnaTNaBet3tn0q49l96VPRuTmxiU2vhEaLLvzw8kn-uE6tL3NuSjOphPsjBMHz8MK-YSevnDeVR-srpVUG6_na5/s320/820-09-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8atgLpfr-VWSCrwGouovsJvO48ZvWDieDh63EKi3sfEEAtTdPM3xh7w2y9Mhm6m0hgZlJkKOad3z_toZU1Btbp-L9F2OVLjc_s6cQCF3kXzw4DKApcXnGfOo7tsK1iiiJOCEgAI3xhu6SnU4RRgUWCSrVyZdwl6njCoUbr47i0ju3lujGipiO/s1280/820-07-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="1280" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8atgLpfr-VWSCrwGouovsJvO48ZvWDieDh63EKi3sfEEAtTdPM3xh7w2y9Mhm6m0hgZlJkKOad3z_toZU1Btbp-L9F2OVLjc_s6cQCF3kXzw4DKApcXnGfOo7tsK1iiiJOCEgAI3xhu6SnU4RRgUWCSrVyZdwl6njCoUbr47i0ju3lujGipiO/s320/820-07-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9klbR7munUw3tJvcohEFLy8_yCBswKNTWQonX2TQUVOuYAcJ8uphnvi2Ev61vQ5HjGFbo_KHv-nrGV6VD1wpOYTZRE5b6QBR5G6O7cRDf5AsjnIM3k52zq0cMmhXqAfU8JTOPen8WPJLu9p8btnJoNe8RgOoR4IFj0B0HdkwrrLGw_uj7jsy/s1280/820-05-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="849" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9klbR7munUw3tJvcohEFLy8_yCBswKNTWQonX2TQUVOuYAcJ8uphnvi2Ev61vQ5HjGFbo_KHv-nrGV6VD1wpOYTZRE5b6QBR5G6O7cRDf5AsjnIM3k52zq0cMmhXqAfU8JTOPen8WPJLu9p8btnJoNe8RgOoR4IFj0B0HdkwrrLGw_uj7jsy/s320/820-05-Seville.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9mewRGFzDoQiKs7tdZ4bwC-rgLaGaQ-h3bcgnbvHZJ4ejwRAxjuoMFS6nRFTuj7ki3O7PtkhebKjlkybK6kTlVo-SUFosSEXYXOnQ6zuDxZ4dgo9aZNlVg71_NE2CscroQOb03bJyR7kWmoGwtcYqjorqC2XZjREdW_IC2gfE2rrUbh703ph/s1280/810-36-Seville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="1280" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9mewRGFzDoQiKs7tdZ4bwC-rgLaGaQ-h3bcgnbvHZJ4ejwRAxjuoMFS6nRFTuj7ki3O7PtkhebKjlkybK6kTlVo-SUFosSEXYXOnQ6zuDxZ4dgo9aZNlVg71_NE2CscroQOb03bJyR7kWmoGwtcYqjorqC2XZjREdW_IC2gfE2rrUbh703ph/s320/810-36-Seville.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Gardens of the Alcazar, Seville</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
bought a couple of chilled drinks at the cafeteria and sat in a woven
basket chairs overlooking a little lake with ducks and a fountain,
laid out in a very formal style, as were all the gardens, and wrote
postcards. Then further exploration before we reluctantly left the
Alcazar, wondering whether we'd ever see anything so amazing again in
our lives.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It's
now time to go to our flamenco evening which takes place in the
Museum of Memories of Andalucia at 10:30.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By
10:00 p.m. there was already a queue of people at the Museum hoping
for good seats in the small covered courtyard. About 60 chairs were
arranged round three sides of a small wooden dance platform in front
of which two lamps burned either side of a large bowl in which
blossoms floated. Two young men came on and sat on the two chairs at
the back of the dance floor. The guitar player strummed his
instrument while the singer coughed took a drink pulled up his socks
then sat, his hands together in front of him clapping softly and
entering a sort of trance before uttering a long wail. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">A
series of quavering phrases alternated with guitar accompaniment the
player clearly trying to match the mood of the singer who seemed
heartbroken, angry, anything but happy. The elaboration of the notes
with their semitones has an Arabic feel to it. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent;">The
two men were joined by a dancer </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
the trio worked wonderfully as a team, the two young men dressed in
black and the beautiful tiny lithe Spanish dancer in her shawl and
flounces, her hair sleeked back into a heavy black bun on her neck.
The Spanish guitarist performed a couple of beautiful solos whilst
the singer rested and the dancer changed her dress. In the Courtyard
setting, listening and watching such a skilful young player, was a
perfect taste of real Spanish culture. I confess myself to be
nonplussed by the singer, a young man of about nineteen with a black
ponytail and dancing shoes for tapping the essential rhythm. He
really seemed to work himself up into a state of trance while
listening to the music before beginning to gently tap and feel his
way through the music, gradually taking over so that the guitarist
bent to the mood of the singer, who would contort his facing agony
and start to emit gentle wails, sobs and whoops, the sound fading,
then returning, riseing and falling, increasing in volume and
intensity. Gradually his feet would move, tapping then stamping,
faster and faster, louder and louder, the guitarist thumping and
stamping too, building up to a crescendo of shouting, wailing,
stamping, strumming and thumping which stopped abruptly, erupting
into total silence. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
dancer had about six foot square of space in which to perform. She
looked magnificent despite her diminutive stature. With scarlet
bodice and tassled shaw, pink floral overskirt and sleek dark skirt
with its layers of huge flounces, she moved as one with the music and
the wailing singer. Her arms above her head, twisting and writhing to
the very tips of each finger, swaying and turning, her head thrown
right back, her fingers snapping the beat, her hands occasionally
clapping, her feet moving and stamping to the rhythm, her skirt
moving beautifully on her hips, the flounces shaking and flying,
being lifted high to display the astonishingly fast foot movement as
the dancer stamped the rhythm and the musician and singer and
increased their speed. Soon it was extremely fast with staccato
stamping and clapping, the platform a whir of red and black as the
dancer twisted, bent, whirled and stamped. It went on for ages and
she must have been exhausted, seeming quite oblivious to the audience
as she danced, intent only on being a part of the performance, all
three of them creating a wild live thing that existed for itself and
not for the audience. Then it stopped. There was total silence after
the passion of a second before. Then the audience broke into uproar
of clapping even giving a standing ovation in the small Museum
courtyard for a unique and wonderful experience. We walked back to
our hotel at midnight through little lantern-lit this streets of old
Seville with people still in bars and restaurants, up to the river
and then along beside the now quiet eight-lane ring road to our
hotel.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Wednesday
25 September 2002.</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
are back in our room for a quick rest and tidy before going out for
supper. We are shattered having been on our feet virtually all day.
We decided to stay another couple of days and see Seville properly
rather than rushing off to Lisbon this morning. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So,
following assurances from the tourist information, we turned up at
10:00 a.m. at the Archivo de Indias when it was due to open. Ian was
really looking forward to this, as it dealt with the Spanish conquest
of the New World and the life and culture of the native Americans of
Mexico and Peru. However, as soon as we pushed open the door, we were
jumped on by a uniformed official who assured us it was cerrado.
Apparently it is closed indefinitely for restoration, but word had
not reached the tourist office, and we had walked right across
Seville to get there. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
cut our losses and made our way through the narrow backstreets,
crowded with cars, chaos, dogs’ mess and dead rats squashed by car
tyres and dried in the sun – only one rat actually – and came out
onto a shopping street near the Museum of Fine Arts. Here we were
highly amused to see a man taking his little sausage dog for a walk,
wearing a pink and white spotted flamenco skirt with layers of frills
at the bottom – I'm talking about the dog, not the owner. It was
absolutely unbelievable and an incredible indignity to the poor dog
to treat it like that. The man was rather angry when he saw us
laughing, so we disappeared quickly down the side alley leading to
the art gallery. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">First
though we went for a coffee, fried eggs and bacon in a
friendly-looking cafe nearby. It was indeed friendly, and with us
pointing and a few odd words, they worked out exactly what we wanted
and it got a – six Euros for both of us about £4.00. Then we
visited the art museum, free to EU members. It is housed within a
former monastery and the collections are predominantly Spanish.
Except for a few later additions, the collections of paintings,
carvings and plaster statues are entirely religious, having been
formed from items seized from churches during the dissolution of the
monasteries in Spain in the 1840s. There were a number of Flemish
works and one by Lucas Cranach. Many of the 15th and 16th century
Spanish works left me feeling very unhappy about the way people must
have thought back then, to depict so graphically the gruesome scenes
of martyrdom and the crucifixion. I also wondered about the later
works, where the saints always seem to be depicted as very Spanish
and very beautiful women wearing seductive drapery. Was it just an
excuse to ogle pictures of women on the walls of the monasteries –
maybe not.. There was only one Goya and two or three works by
Velasquez among others by painters from Seville, Zurbaran, Valdezeal
and Murillo. The whole museum was wonderfully set in the 17th century
monastery, complete with lovely enclosed gardens with flowering
shrubs, fountains and cool seats for weary visitors to rest between
the different galleries. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Later
we walked across to the district of Macarena to look at the huge
crenelated walls of the old Moorish fort and a couple of Moorish
churches, including that of Santa Marina. The whole area is being
redeveloped, and is a massive building site inside the Moorish walls.
It is chaos, with the noise of hammering and bulldozing. The streets
are full of rubbish, skips, cars block all the roads and the
pavements are absolutely smothered in dogs’ mess. Amid all this,
people sit at tables on the streets sipping coffees and beers – how
awful. We were rather disappointed with Macarena – unless you are
mad about the Moors, don't bother to go all the way across there.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
made our way back through the dirty streets where abandoned cars had
their wheels removed. As we passed some lads took off the sunroof at
one such car, popped it into their own car, and drove off. Back at
the main bus station we checked out buses to Lagos. Then we had a
beer and walked miles across town to the other station to see if you
could get a bus tomorrow to Carmona. A very helpful young man at the
bus stop explained all the complexities of travelling there. He spoke
in Spanish and was charming and very helpful.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By
this time our feet were quite worn down but we still had the Trian
area across the river to explore. It proved to be very pleasant but
mainly shops and residential. So we returned to our hotel via the
bullring. It was not a lot to see at the bullring unless you wish to
visit the museum bullfighting, which we didn't especially, feeling so
weary. There appears to be a training school for toreadors and a farm for the rearing of bulls for the shows. I've no idea how the
bulls are treated and it doesn't interest us at all to know. It
generally seems a barbaric thing like fox hunting, about which we
also know nothing.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Back
at our hotel, we washed, changed, rested and then went down into the
town for supper. It was okay but rather pricey, and we were pestered
by singing, dancing gypsy folk several times as we ate, which took
the pleasure away as we don't know the situation here and don't know
how genuine any of it is. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Thursday
26 September 2002</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
were up before daylight to get across Seville to the bus station for
buses to Carmona, Cordova ,Cadiz, Granada and Malaga – even to
Barcelona. It is exciting just writing these cities names and
realizing they are a few hours on the bus. However, as we flew to
Portugal, we have decided not to wander further east or south to
Tangiers and Morocco on this occasion and wait a couple more years
for retirement and our camping car to explore everywhere in more
detail. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today
we have decided on the 45-minute ride to Carmona, so we will stay yet
a further night here. We saw a sweet shop yesterday bursting with
bags of toffees. Just what I've been looking for, to say casually to
Ian “there's an awful lot of toffee in Seville”. And on the
subject of dreadful puns, in the museum yesterday we saw a picture
inspired by Cervantes Don Quixote with the knight on his horse in the
distance and Sancho Panza in the foreground embracing his donkey. We
decided it was the original for the American expression “kiss my
ass”.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">This
morning we set the alarm for 7:00 a.m., purchased our last night's
lodging at the hostal and were at the bus station in good time for
the 9:00 bus to Carmona. We purchased tickets from the driver only
1.95 euros each for the 30 kilometre, 45 minute journey, and soon we
were passing through the blocks of flats and warehouses on the
outskirts of Seville and then heading east on the motorway. The bus
turned off at each junction to pick up and drop off passengers who
seemed to come from nowhere in the vast, flat, empty landscape, with
few trees to break the monotony. The bus finally left the motorway
and climbed the first hill since Seville into Carmona where the
square that the bus stopped in was one of Spain’s ubiquitous
building sites. The town however was a gem, its defensive position
attracting Carthaginians, Romans and Arabs. The town lies in a flat
plain of orange coloured sandstone. What it is like earlier in the
year, I don't know but today it rose on a sandstone outcrop from the
top of the of which there were views out to eternity across a
parched, flat, orange landscape, where the only sign of life was the
motorway stretching across from side to side of the horizon. The
motorway followed the via Augusta from Italica to Carmo. The Seville
gate with its great castle was on Roman foundations as was the Cordova
gate cut in the cliffs. The castle has fortified walls still
remaining, guarding the gateway into the old town, while the shops
and commercial areas are outside the town walls. It is an absolute
jewel of a town, making no concessions the tourism. Even the tourist
office was closed, there were no public toilets and very few places
to eat at all. It had few tourists, considering its proximity to
Seville.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVODLpuGjOjYwfxAZs7Z7jM8_rq_p640w8jK3DLxsdP8vgGeIB4V7uxlrcK4romMbAK-GgNkCg4nXqla_JCmNFpaP9b0qL0aGPQIQdYIAOCCjylqVGP0VRIrI4BoNSfwex3aipKNrp18kyIZbVOk37yzSvN0GvCNxP_Hw0oX2_j5xWi0QpDmwa/s1280/820-12-Carmona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1280" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVODLpuGjOjYwfxAZs7Z7jM8_rq_p640w8jK3DLxsdP8vgGeIB4V7uxlrcK4romMbAK-GgNkCg4nXqla_JCmNFpaP9b0qL0aGPQIQdYIAOCCjylqVGP0VRIrI4BoNSfwex3aipKNrp18kyIZbVOk37yzSvN0GvCNxP_Hw0oX2_j5xWi0QpDmwa/s320/820-12-Carmona.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Puerto de Cordoba, Carmona</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
are so glad we stayed the extra day because it was a wonderful cool
place inside the narrow alleys of whitewashed walls with shade at all
times of the day – it has been up to about 30 degrees today. Big
wooden doors with brass knockers open onto cool dark tiled entrances,
Moroccan in style with tubs of plants. Frequently there were glimpses
of little courtyards with aspidistras and flowering cactuses with
cool fountains in the centre. It is really ingenious the way
everything is designed to produce a cool and comfortable place in the
searing heat of this vast deserted burned plain. We discovered a
little tile factory where people were hand-painting the designs onto
the tiles prior to firing. They all looked wonderful but not
practical to purchase as a tourist. In the tree lined central square
the local old men gathered together on benches, while from behind
wooden doors the sound of women laughing proved there were little
shops in among the houses, and indistinguishable from to us from them
to us until we saw through the doors the owners cutting meat, gutting
fish or selling peaches.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vgVAb0PH_nbe7riDmoyH8wGo2k1guRkeqvvWG-Ym6fVQZI4_pxiuGUA_D2LMfDNJOYcaGxkloX5wtuvo1zN1KLoNvbo1w4D2stektqzkBSDHMk1UNOLDDgm61De06xBDC1u7xEcJ8_X4YgHxvcODn5WQF_h6TZKdGxXotmc9aPde5mYvo7kS/s1280/820-10-Carmona.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vgVAb0PH_nbe7riDmoyH8wGo2k1guRkeqvvWG-Ym6fVQZI4_pxiuGUA_D2LMfDNJOYcaGxkloX5wtuvo1zN1KLoNvbo1w4D2stektqzkBSDHMk1UNOLDDgm61De06xBDC1u7xEcJ8_X4YgHxvcODn5WQF_h6TZKdGxXotmc9aPde5mYvo7kS/s320/820-10-Carmona.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Market, Carmona</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
found an open square with sheltered stores around the edge where
foodstuff was being sold. A little stall sold cold drinks and coffee
and, in the centre under huge sunshades, clothing was sold as it
appeared to be market day. We both needed a comfort break by now, and
our searches took us to the very top of the hill where the ruins of
the old castle looked out over the plain. One end had been renovated
into a stupendous parador, a state-run hotel. Lizards ran across the
vertical walls high above the rocks below, and there was a bright
blue sparkle of a swimming pool amid the arid surroundings. Curious
to see the inside of such a luxurious hotel, as a contrast to our
simple hostel in Seville, we walked boldly through the doors and into
a lovely courtyard with its bright marble fountain. Nobody stopped us
so we wandered around until we found the much-needed loo. Then we
explored the lounges and dining rooms. It would be nice one day to
try a bit of luxury – it didn't seem that expensive for what you
got. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR13iRaazWwvBDyB_GrezwRdM2mPfhRu1XH8bKbDpOaQMLT5bTRa4NR73n_Yfmo_Aj2WG2Rtp7Vcl9JSPk1_JR-H5DqY4WZiq9kGj6JgPJAi0ufcdvQmkIf2MeKOH9ME2GjxpuxSkGH2KC4Vit0Od9D8XetkH9Xn58rZmGSof9ym2r1GwDxaCj/s1280/820-11-Carmona.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="889" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR13iRaazWwvBDyB_GrezwRdM2mPfhRu1XH8bKbDpOaQMLT5bTRa4NR73n_Yfmo_Aj2WG2Rtp7Vcl9JSPk1_JR-H5DqY4WZiq9kGj6JgPJAi0ufcdvQmkIf2MeKOH9ME2GjxpuxSkGH2KC4Vit0Od9D8XetkH9Xn58rZmGSof9ym2r1GwDxaCj/s320/820-11-Carmona.jpg" width="222" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Inside the Parador, Carmona</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Feeling better, we made our way back through the maze of shady whitewashed alleys and eventually found once again the square, where we had a coffee in the shade and watched the local people. There are unfortunately no restrictions on either dogs or cars in Carmona, and there are far too many of both. Chaos reigns in the tiny streets, and in those too narrow for cars you risk being mown down by motorbikes. As for the dogs – I watched one urinate against a chair</div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">leg of a
roadside table where a Spanish couple were dining and sipping wine,
unaware that the husband would discover he had wet, smelly trousers
on when he moved. Flies from the turds in the gutter kept landing on
the food on tables set on the road, with cars and vans inches away
churning out diesel fumes. That's the negative side – in fact we
ate at one of the one of these tables and, if you shut your mind to
the surroundings, it was very pleasant. We had chilled beer and a
dish of five different tapas to share, three fish ones, one meet one
and one with ratatouille and eggs. Afterwards I used the ladies at
the back of the bar was amused to see a notice in English requesting
“Please do not belch the paper in the WC”. I wonder who does the
translations for all these notices. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By
now we were shattered and falling asleep. However somewhere Ian had
picked up a map of the town about two inches square and managed to
work out that, if we left the shady alleys, walked across the modern
town in the afternoon heat and out onto the edge of the plain for a
mile or so, we would come to a Roman amphitheatre and necropolis.
Some 30 or more years ago I agreed to take him for better all worse
so, with only minor protests, I followed my master out into the
wilderness. Even the lizards were seeking shade by now. Eventually we
passed a Spanish couple of about our age crawling back to the town.
Seeing a fellow spirit and realizing I was suffering the same fate,
the woman gasped at me in Spanish, “Don't go, it's another half an
hour …”. I couldn't understand the rest but she wasn't
exaggerating. The site was free when we got there and the lady guide
took us round talking in Spanish. It was all in the open out on the
plain but very interesting in fact. The Necropolis is the largest
known outside Italy with cremations in niches in voltage Tombs cut
from the rock. Some tombs took the form of houses complete with
colonnaded courtyards and with the stucco and murals still visible. I
loved climbing down ladders into subterranean burial tombs where the
cremated ashes of the Romans were stacked around the sides in tiny
stone boxes set into niches cut into the sandstone rock, the only
light coming from the narrow hole in the roof I had just descended
through. They had a job to persuade me to come out because it was as
actually blissfully cool down there. However at the next burial pit I
was in time to see a two foot long snake slither its way across the
arid rock and disappear into the tomb. Lizards darted a way as it
came. I've no idea if it was poisonous but somehow my enthusiasm for
going down into dark pits had evaporated. But it was a very
interesting experience. On top of the Roman town the Arabs built and
then the Christians with their many churches mainly baroque but with
traces of Gothic doorways all in all of depth of three thousand years
of history almost as much as we had found in Crete. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On
our return to the town centre our bus was waiting to take us back to
Seville. It was air conditioned – bliss, joy. I have no idea what
happened next as I fell asleep, and when I next opened my eyes in the
bus station in Seville. There we hugged the shade on our way from one
bus station to the other, stopping only for an ice cream to soothe
our throats. We purchased our tickets for tomorrow and some wine at
45 cents a litre. In our hotel room, showered and full of tapas –
i.e. frankfurters and peanuts washed down by cheap plonk – we are
able to ponder the depth of history we have encountered. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18.6667px; text-align: justify;"></span><p></p>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-71549115405899775922023-08-10T14:40:00.002+01:002023-08-10T21:20:04.622+01:00Portugal 2002. 1. Faro and Tavira<p><br /></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18.6667px;"><b>August 2023, Exeter.</b></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Preparing this latest retrospective blog for the internet in August 2023, we learned that large areas that we travelled through in 2002 are being ravaged by wildfires. It is sobering to realise that our memories are destroyed in so many different ways, and our hearts go out to those who have lost so much in these devastating infernos. What a world we are creating for ourselves in this Anthropocene epoch.</span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>21 September 2002, Faro Portugal.</b></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We
had booked to go to Portugal from Exeter airport for the last week in
September and the first in October and were given a lift to Exeter
Airport this morning by our friend Alan. We flew off over Woodbury
Common on a grey morning at 10:40. Above the cloud cover the sky was
brilliant and two hours later we landed in Portugal.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Despite
the assurances in the </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Lonely
Planet</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
guide book that the buses ran every 15 minutes to the town centre we
were obliged to wait a full hour before we got a bus for the
18-minute ride into the town, passing through shabby little
backstreets covered in graffiti on the way. We also passed some very
pleasant white villas with their heavy red-tiled roofs and gardens
filled with large flowering trees and shrubs. Modern buildings looked
well built and attractive in the midst of many streets and corners of
old neglected properties.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Seeing
a sign saying "Rooms to let" as we reached the town centre near the
port and marina, we scrambled off the bus and went to investigate.
That bit was easy. We spoke to a delightful Portuguese lady in
phrases we had learned straight from the phrase book on the plane. It
was all quite amusing. We are now in a huge, clean, very pleasant
room with an enormous en-suite bathroom overlooking a quiet
backstreet. At 45 euros it is dearer than we want for every day, but
it gives us a time to find our bearings.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
weather is a lot warmer than in Exeter so we changed into shorts and
sandals before venturing out to explore the town where we needed our
sun hats and sunglasses against the strong glare of the afternoon
sun. Three minutes down the road we reached the marina with its many
bobbing boats sheltered from the Atlantic breeze. Two minutes later
the rain began - average rainfall is two days in September and five
in October so, by our reckoning, we ought to have a few days dry in
the coming fortnight. Actually it didn't last long, and we have spent
a happy afternoon exploring the old part of Faro and the very
pleasant shopping area, also fairly old with its pedestrianized
cobbled streets and bars and terraces. We sat at a street cafe
watching the very beautiful Portuguese people, so slim compared to
the British and German tourists, together with their lovely kids
strolling around the town. We had a couple of coffees and an apricot
meringue which we asked for in what we hoped was phrase-book
Portuguese and our lovely waitress actually worked out what we meant!
It will probably have been easier for her if we didn't try.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
language is really easy to work out when you see it written, but too
fast to understand out of context. I’m nervous to try pidgin
Portuguese. To ask for a couple of cakes would mean raising two
fingers and saying “boulos”. I think someone might hit us! The
tourist office was really helpful with bus timetables. The bus
station told us that there are two buses a day to Seville and it
costs 11 euros (about £7). The railway station says you cannot get
trains from Faro to Seville; the Lonely Planet guide says you can. I
think we should volunteer to write guides for them and be paid to do
all this, that will be brilliant!</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Having
spent such a nice afternoon, we bought wine, water and nibbles in a
supermarket and returned to our room. We have now eaten the nibbles
and the bottle of really nice vinho tinto from Portugal is half
empty. On the assumption that folk eat late in Portugal as they do in
Spain, we are now going off in mellow mood to try out one of the many
pleasant-looking restaurants we have seen this afternoon. Many are
fish restaurants with tanks of seafood swimming in their windows.
Prices seem to range from a few euros for sardines to 64 Euros for
lobster. </span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By
the way the worst aspect of Faro is the sound of the aircraft
landing and taking off every few seconds. You almost need to duck as
they pass overhead. By the river estuary where it appears to be a
mass of salty marshes and green islets, a landing plane looked about
to crash into a white stork that had just flown off its nest on the
top of one of the twin towers of the cathedral in the old town.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Ria Formosa or estuary of the river is a national park and folk are
taken out by boat and abandoned on various islets for the day to fry
in the sun shaded only by the shadows of low-flying planes as they
skim the shore, seemingly a few feet above the estuary and its islets
- not my idea of fun at all.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Later</b></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We
are back in our room after a supper of sardines and salad which was
very nice in a bony, fatty sort of way. Ian liked it a lot, but I
don't think I'll bother again. </span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
our bathroom hangs a curious piece of pristine white fabric. Beside
it is a picture of a black boot with the words “para limpar os
sabotas”. Each country has its different customs I guess. In Crete
we couldn't put paper down the loo, and here we are ordered to wipe
our boots before using the toilet - at least the cloth hangs beside
the toilet paper so that's the impression it gives. </span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Sunday
22 September 2002</b></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian's
in the shower and it looks like being another hot day so we've got up
early to catch the bus to Tavira for the day. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
think this room was a mistake. It's very nice but far too expensive
for more than a night when we only need a bathroom to clean up. As
yet we've not had time to get grubby. We've seen several places
around Faro that look cheaper, but we have contracted to stay another
night and then we will move on. The worst though is that the quiet
little backstreet onto which our room faces was used all last night
by a group of very noisy young Portuguese men sitting in doorways and
shouting at each other immediately below our room - I never thought
to bring ear plugs. We were obliged to sleep with the window shut
which helped with the noise but made our room very hot - bed covers
were out of the question. However, we felt so weary from our long day
that we both slept despite the noise. It's now 7:40 a.m. The lads
have gone to their beds around 6:30 a.m. and the flights to the
airport have recommended every few seconds over our heads. Being
Sunday, local churches are putting up good competition. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Later</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
are now back in our room in Faro at 10:00 p.m. Tomorrow we must get
up early in order to catch the 8:00 a.m. bus to Seville. It has been
an enjoyable day, rather hot and close with short several short but
heavy showers, none of which occurred at a time to cause us any
inconvenience whatsoever. We had a superb breakfast this morning for
five euros for both of us here in the hotel. A basket of fresh rolls
with butter, jam, honey and even cheese, a jug of orange juice and
another two big jugs of coffee and milk - super value. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
arrived at the bus station in good time for our 9:00 a.m. trip to
Tavira, some 30 kilometres along the coast to the east. It took an
hour to get there with the bus turning off to various small towns and
villages on the way, just in case anyone wanted to get on. Nobody
did, so it was like our own personal taxi, except for an elderly man
with a flat hat and umbrella who seemed to have come along to chat
with the driver. We passed through the narrow cobbled streets of
Faro, full of tile-fronted old houses in varying states of decay with
washing festooning their facades, graffiti everywhere, litter and
dust on the cobbles, and innumerable docile dogs lying in the road or
trotting around unaccompanied in a way that would never be tolerated
in England. Frequently there were groups of dogs on a mission of some
sort, known only unto them. They wandered in and out of the traffic,
stopping frequently to scratch or lick each other's balls. They seem
to have aimless lives, rather like a canine equivalent of the
nocturnal gathering below our bedroom window last night. There are
two supermarkets in Faro Lidl and Jumbo. They advertise side by side
on street hoardings it struck us as a case of Little and Large (a UK
TV comedy series at that time). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
bus route passed through largely unprepossessing countryside with
distant hills lending interest to the vista across the flat coastal
plain as it skirted the marshy estuary of the Ria Formosa. Along the
roadside were acres of abandoned fields overrun with weeds, covered
with rubbish, with shabby crumbling buildings standing in isolation.
Then suddenly we would see half a dozen beautifully built homes with
wonderful gardens and patios. Then there would be a return to the
scruffy abandoned countryside again. As we travelled further from
Faro, the countryside began to look better cared for. Sheep grazed in
orchards of citrus fruits, mainly oranges and tangerines. Nearer to
Tavira however we saw huge plantations of pomegranates. I've never
seen them growing before and it struck me as very exciting. Soon they
will be appearing in the Exeter shops and I've always associated that
with Christmas, yet here they were growing in their thousands along
the southern edge of Portugal. I was really astonished at the density
of food production. The citrus trees were quite bowed down with the
weight of oranges and there were fig trees and peach trees equally
burdened. We passed quite a few olive trees covered in fruits and all
kinds of beautiful shrubs from purple oleanders to scarlet hibiscus
as well as many others whose names are unknown but are now becoming
familiar from our visits to Mediterranean islands, Tenerife and the
coast of southern Europe. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By 10:00 am we were wandering the streets
of Tavira in the hot sunshine. The town lies on the estuary of the
river Gilão about two kilometres inland from the sea and beyond the
town are are salt pans where salt was previously evaporated off, but
today the industry is virtually finished, as are the canning
factories that used to proliferate in the days of the town's </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">heyday
as a fishing port. It still boasts a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">certain
fishing industry, with net menders working beside the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>m</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">uddy
flats of the river at low tide. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
town is very pleasant. There seems to be a ban on traffic in the town
centre this Sunday, so the streets were devoid of cars and we could
wander the many narrow cobbled streets of tile-fronted houses at
leisure. A few baroque houses looked rather elegant with their
facades of decorated blue tiles reflecting the Moorish influence of
earlier times. Most however were horrid modern tiles in poor taste,
which generally clashed with those of the adjoining properties on
either side. Frequently at the tiles were damaged over the years with
bare plaster patches, and spray can graffiti were present and
generally, as in Tenerife, electric cabling was hanging across the
fronts of properties which drooped down, looking horribly ugly. Again
we had to pick our way amongst the many stray dogs and their excreta. </span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwc4Iv0jXzcgrPZpRzh09iQ1yHJxFdb_eRXnAmKL6i1hn2zLrhfdwVyTJIoMEW5Zla0UFSFtr26X7Xrwa98QXQ5l2Zl_u0uYtBPbk-aB12Wj6jbMzZZwmBJxShVPqkK8WkUjHT1O4rcv1INy9xbCJKUConivtEk3JBFxcpGh4XF87TpOa4PN_L/s1280/810-22-Tavira.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1280" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwc4Iv0jXzcgrPZpRzh09iQ1yHJxFdb_eRXnAmKL6i1hn2zLrhfdwVyTJIoMEW5Zla0UFSFtr26X7Xrwa98QXQ5l2Zl_u0uYtBPbk-aB12Wj6jbMzZZwmBJxShVPqkK8WkUjHT1O4rcv1INy9xbCJKUConivtEk3JBFxcpGh4XF87TpOa4PN_L/s320/810-22-Tavira.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>Statue of Dom Marcellino Franco, Bishop 1920-1955, Tavira</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Crowds of people were in the main square by the river with its
pleasant park. Inflated bouncy castles had been set up for children
and, because traffic had been banned, there were hordes of cyclists
riding through and around the town centre. There was a very happy
atmosphere in this pleasant little town of around 12,000 people, most
of whom seemed to be out sitting on terraces with beers or resting in
the shade beneath the very many date palms.</div></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
are 38 churches in the town, and I think we visited the main ones.
They are lovely, frequently baroque in style, with tiled walls inside
depicting religious scenes, some with very elaborate doorways or
heavily carved and gilded altars. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIxPbZA-kVZvfc7I_V5CD-ICAyjZB4OJZ2qHD6kl-39W8xL4OlOQhrLMt3gedw-fsIqx0dA-qsWU3yPGkLz_fguhH_6h7L9k7vNiRR0okVdzCn5aKhjy5PyHpRSXSFvLeMm4Ag3istzYCu-xNorLGHMUgclL4Q27d0lYgmge34l4y8JI82jZr/s1280/810-19-Tavira.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIxPbZA-kVZvfc7I_V5CD-ICAyjZB4OJZ2qHD6kl-39W8xL4OlOQhrLMt3gedw-fsIqx0dA-qsWU3yPGkLz_fguhH_6h7L9k7vNiRR0okVdzCn5aKhjy5PyHpRSXSFvLeMm4Ag3istzYCu-xNorLGHMUgclL4Q27d0lYgmge34l4y8JI82jZr/s320/810-19-Tavira.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="text-align: left;"><i>Church of Santiago, Tavira</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
climbed up to the old castle with views from its ruined walls over
the heavy orange-tiled roofs of the town with the salt flats and the
sea beyond. Within the castle there was a beautiful garden full of
exotic plants while below in a little corner was a garden growing
pomegranates, tangerines, figs, olives and bananas while chickens and
geese scrabbled beneath them. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGIspy-buZBAbFuyFGE_x-i17vtzxBVPRZqYF4_H0xA5iOVr_wm41P5rsosQdnOkVKN6r38P1gghGbPzFA5mRrnUU0tbUIY5IvpV1_uPnlMhiLkJJBhoycMMObDrz5GXK5fZuCl3dttSX11A9iUWw2XRZuGxrAozeQQFYHAWKKeXthF8MvrB7/s1280/810-23-Tavira.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGIspy-buZBAbFuyFGE_x-i17vtzxBVPRZqYF4_H0xA5iOVr_wm41P5rsosQdnOkVKN6r38P1gghGbPzFA5mRrnUU0tbUIY5IvpV1_uPnlMhiLkJJBhoycMMObDrz5GXK5fZuCl3dttSX11A9iUWw2XRZuGxrAozeQQFYHAWKKeXthF8MvrB7/s320/810-23-Tavira.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 18px; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i>By the River Gilão, Tavira</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><br /></i></span></div></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;">There
was plenty to explore and pleasant gardens in which to rest. It was
well worth the visit. On the far side of the river we were highly
amused watch a group of lads who had chained themselves to bars in an
inflatable pitch and, with bare feet and a football, were pretending
to be footballers in a life-sized game of mini-foot or table football
or Subuteo. Around 3:00 p.m. we got the bus back to Faro. It poured
with rain for most of the journey back so that was no problem for us
as it was dry at both ends of our journey. Our friend of the outward
journey was on the bus back, still chatting through the driver who
eventually stopped by his house to set him down in the pouring rain,
when the little man was able to justify taking his brolly by raising
it for the ten steps to his front door.</div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Back
in Faro, we explored areas of the town to find food for our five hour
bus journey tomorrow. However nowhere was open on a Sunday evening so
we will just have to starve until we reach Seville. I only hope tap
water is okay here as I filled our bottles from the tap as we cannot
even purchase water. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Exploring
a little park where parents paid played mini-golf while their infants
amused themselves with slides and climbing frames, we found ourselves
outside the town centre surrounded by endless blocks of white
rendered modern flats, each with their own balcony, faceless and
characterless. We crossed the railway track and wandered down towards
the sea, far away across the salt flats. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Here
we discovered what had earlier presumably been little wooden sheds
and single storey buildings, perhaps occupied by those at worked on
the many abandoned salt pans where seawater was left to dry in
shallow basins constructed in the mud. Now I suppose they act as a
sanctuary for seabirds and small mammals. They are certainly used to
dump unwanted articles from abandoned mattresses or chairs and
cookers to empty water bottles, old shoes, bits of piping, broken
glass, builders’ rubble and torn plastic sheeting. A whole shanty
community has grown up in the wooden sheds - the Portuguese
underclass; dropouts, immigrants, the dispossessed, a third world
ghetto in what is already one of the poorest countries in the EU.
Much of the abandoned rubble and rubbish had been sifted through by
this community to enlarge and improve their home, most of which were
covered in plastic sheeting and festooned with washing. It never
occurred to us at the time what they do for water, cooking or
heating. Most had TV aerials so electricity, I suppose, is supplied,
but doing so is surely an acceptance by the state that such squalor
is acceptable. People, usually young men, stood about talking, and
somehow it all seemed a little frightening, even threatening. We had
intended following one of the little embankments across the salt pans
to cut across the mud flats back to the old town of Faro but felt
decidedly conspicuous in such a poverty-ridden setting some distance
from other people, so we turned and made our way back to the main
road and the old town, passing dead cats, and frogs leaping into
fetid, slimy ditches on the way, presumably no longer sought water
this far back. It was certainly a different viewer of the country
from that generally seen by tourists. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0.18cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We
returned to our room for a shower and a rest; it is exhausting
walking around towns all day in 24 degrees of heat. Then, having
emptied our wine bottle, we went out in search of supper. </span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
opted for a simple inexpensive restaurant mainly because we loved the
name Restaurante Fim do Mundo - the restaurant at the end of the
world or, as we prefer to call it, the restaurant at the end of the
universe (Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy). The menu was certainly
out of this world, if the translation into English was anything to go
by. I spent time some time debating whether to order boiled horse, it
sounded so appetizing. However I was non-plussed that it was included
under the fish section, and I had a horrid fear of being presented
with a plateful of tiny cooked seahorses. So I opted, as did Ian, for
tuna steaks, a lovely meal with salad and potatoes for five euros
each. We also had a carafe of Portuguese wine which, although house
wine, was truly wonderful, deep red and very smooth, it cost us two
euros for both of us. Our total bill was well under £10 including
tapas of bread butter and olives followed by huge slice of chilled
melon and two spoons. The waiter was a pleasant older man who seemed
amazed at our gesticulations and efforts to get by in Portuguese. He
also understood everything we wanted exactly, and didn't bet an
eyelid at our endeavours to explain about sharing the melon and
needing an extra spoon. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-73563608458694933952023-02-26T15:24:00.001+00:002023-02-26T15:24:40.878+00:00Crete 2001. Linear D.<p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Saturday
2 June 2001.</b></p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
woke this morning to the blessed sound of a howling wind around our
apartments. Our patio furniture had been blown over, and we were
obliged to eat breakfast in our room or it could have been blown
away. The sun was as hot and glaring as ever, 33 degrees by 10 am,
but the wind made it bearable. The fact that the wind reached us from the south across the Libyan Sea, straight from Africa, is
astonishing. Can it really be cooker and fresher over there? We
decided to make the most of the more pleasant temperature, so drove
up through the Lefka Ora across to the south of the island to
Paleochora on the Libyan Sea. A perfectly reasonable road, apart from
the need to drive around the occasional enormous rock falls along a
twisting route that made the journey three times longer than it
otherwise would have been. </span></span></span></p><p align="justify" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hS1wHDdr2A4vb7YgXsg8ZFn6RIgUYkdQxBNag2QXwWwNVptqguUys78ExTywzutiU9q4EIxEpZ8Xzq4xM80sjG5720g2nDJkVl-9HkcXbaZ_SbdevMJSdsxv4oOiscn_sTQm6HnN-5Mp0Clz4BZlUVZq4VJ4cdxLoH_jBd33FUSbkVOohQ/s1280/740-06-Voukolies.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="1280" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hS1wHDdr2A4vb7YgXsg8ZFn6RIgUYkdQxBNag2QXwWwNVptqguUys78ExTywzutiU9q4EIxEpZ8Xzq4xM80sjG5720g2nDJkVl-9HkcXbaZ_SbdevMJSdsxv4oOiscn_sTQm6HnN-5Mp0Clz4BZlUVZq4VJ4cdxLoH_jBd33FUSbkVOohQ/s320/740-06-Voukolies.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Voukolies</i></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The scenery is spectacular, so much more
greenery at this end of Crete with bright pink flowering shrubs on
the wayside and upon the cliff face. There were whole areas of
woodland: chestnuts, sycamores as well as the usual vines and olive
groves. On the lower reaches were whole groves of oranges and lemons,
heavy with fruit, as were apricot trees. We passed through little
villages scattered along the way, each with its church and its cafe
with the elders of the village gathered outside. On the outskirts
were goats tethered by the roadside and we saw several elderly
black-clad ladies taking them for walks. Donkeys sheltered under the
trees, or carried happy faced, weather-beaten labourers back to the
village. Views were magnificent and we were forever stopping to
wonder at yet another mountain vista with the sea beyond. Eventually
we started the long descent down into Paleochora, which turned out to
be a delightful little town, really isolated with only the one route
in and out. On seeing a garage, we speculated as to whether the
petrol tanker followed the same route in as us or whether petrol have
been delivered straight up from Colonel Gaddafi across the Libyan
Sea. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7MCRPkz1uh9ojNnIUEnEEE_LiQTvf9urlrR9oTvkpJfixZ8hjmzkD2tDgmXcSu_V4vBPCwcZfBU-OrheaWvOyGrZcV6cdW7t2EM0FMQ0VCQM5nyB3Fyi9GZtQLb-ecnFabUOSI65F-rlJ7Ok9IEBwLCxKz4nOjKQFB3pW5lTB8ZEs3FAog/s1280/740-07-Palaeochora.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7MCRPkz1uh9ojNnIUEnEEE_LiQTvf9urlrR9oTvkpJfixZ8hjmzkD2tDgmXcSu_V4vBPCwcZfBU-OrheaWvOyGrZcV6cdW7t2EM0FMQ0VCQM5nyB3Fyi9GZtQLb-ecnFabUOSI65F-rlJ7Ok9IEBwLCxKz4nOjKQFB3pW5lTB8ZEs3FAog/s320/740-07-Palaeochora.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Palaeochora</i></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cU9ztZrp8dGoFjHZsYLQztJBmK2qYAIGo0Rjs29DMLZ_BHl7bicCB24TMist3RRgqy3WGgXEiBr7qPl2hgqGwpzkagIisKsJR-RkMtFXQemOIjPuGFTP3xYIFaEBLuBV2bcEr2b6FjzJZ7PfAD3McLmIGj9YZqdBTxIuSO6bytdC6fN4Dw/s1280/740-08-Palaeochora.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cU9ztZrp8dGoFjHZsYLQztJBmK2qYAIGo0Rjs29DMLZ_BHl7bicCB24TMist3RRgqy3WGgXEiBr7qPl2hgqGwpzkagIisKsJR-RkMtFXQemOIjPuGFTP3xYIFaEBLuBV2bcEr2b6FjzJZ7PfAD3McLmIGj9YZqdBTxIuSO6bytdC6fN4Dw/s320/740-08-Palaeochora.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Palaeochora</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimf2sXezXW0CZRUYbi6GF52FwYPntSChz34dYaqnG__-FKi-dmdg0vxOCaqHyszCesbOJybu6BmJfqtfm9LQLrrdVycEkW5z_J_gE-vuO0zuaIW2aJn59KGVgYJzEB2j6kBocRyz6y4WA3f2a2KdX1LgsqeM0A961d_K3UoRoGSUjZw4oN3Q/s1280/740-09-Palaeochora.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="1280" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimf2sXezXW0CZRUYbi6GF52FwYPntSChz34dYaqnG__-FKi-dmdg0vxOCaqHyszCesbOJybu6BmJfqtfm9LQLrrdVycEkW5z_J_gE-vuO0zuaIW2aJn59KGVgYJzEB2j6kBocRyz6y4WA3f2a2KdX1LgsqeM0A961d_K3UoRoGSUjZw4oN3Q/s320/740-09-Palaeochora.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Palaeochora</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUK9C6vSeHc-bb5VeQClA0pTtwLJfouzSZFpRfPqMd65Mb70r2zX62jMelWHV8wtLlYYhpQ_s2mfZlLoUrCNYgGVleGrLUj_9NJ0zL-8lA_Iyf5O32Wedz-UxeXM2ydMpIpVr_GL8tQ8yXowG4VqxOs8af0gOV7URUqDZxWkWZgapFUFGsg/s1280/740-10-Palaeochora.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUK9C6vSeHc-bb5VeQClA0pTtwLJfouzSZFpRfPqMd65Mb70r2zX62jMelWHV8wtLlYYhpQ_s2mfZlLoUrCNYgGVleGrLUj_9NJ0zL-8lA_Iyf5O32Wedz-UxeXM2ydMpIpVr_GL8tQ8yXowG4VqxOs8af0gOV7URUqDZxWkWZgapFUFGsg/s320/740-10-Palaeochora.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Palaeochora</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The
little town of just 1,200 residents is most attective and built on a
headland surrounded by iridescent shimmering blue crystal sea where
fishes can be seen right up to the shore swimming in small shoals in
perfect formation, smaller fish near the surface, larger ones lower
down. The bottom of the sea is browsed by larger fish, up to 12
inches, fish with white whiskers. Never have we seen such clear
shimmering water; an evening dress in the same shade with the same
moire effect would be truly stunning. Because of its remote situation
the town is as yet unspoiled by visitors, but already tourists can
outnumber inhabitants in the main holiday period. A new marina is
being built so there will be ready access to this Cretan paradise set
beneath the white mountains of the Lefka Ora, for visitors from the
rich Arab and African countries bordering the Eastern end of the
Mediterranean; a couple of yachts were already moored.</div></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Road
access is also being improved. Many minor roads up to little isolated
mountain villages, marked as unsurfaced tracks on our map, are in
fact now metalled and although steep and twisting, easily navigable
for everyone anyone not in a hurry. We paddled, watched the fishes,
strolled past the row of shady tavernas and made our way from one
side of the headland around the coast to the opposite side of the
town and the more touristy sandy beach with its sunbeds, parasols and
cocktail bars. On the way we passed a little seaside house where an
older man and woman beamed at us and waved calling “yassas”. It
later became obvious that tourists would never be likely to follow
the headland walk as it is currently no more than a building site for
the marina and much speculative building of holiday apartments. Soon
the town will be spoiled, scarred and ugly like all the others, full
of half built properties. Incidentally, we had always thought that
the unfinished appearance of so many buildings was because they ran
out of money and intended to continue at a later date. Although this
is often true, the main reason, it seems, is that it is a tax dodge
and buildings are exempt from certain charges until completed. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
further side of the town is very pleasant but, being more popular
because of its sandy beach, it is more developed. It is also hotter,
as the cool wind from the Libyan sea was blowing far more strongly on
the stony beaches of the other side of the peninsula. So we crossed
back and had lunch on a shaded terrace on the water's edge with views
to die for of the white mountains rising from the green land
bordering the marine blue sea where the heat haze made the
distinction between sea and sky quite indiscernible. Lunch was
delicious. The menus were delivered ne at a time by a little girl of
about four - they were too big for her to manage to carry two
together. Her father then brought us iced water, a dish of
vegetables: courgettes, potatoes and tomatoes topped with cheese and
baked. There were to accompany the main dish of keftedes, pork
meatballs with salad and chips. The meal and the setting a superb and
the cool breeze enabled us to feel comfortable for the first time
since coming to this end of the island. Our bill was 3,500 drachmas,
less than £7 for the two of us. We took a photo of an elderly Danish
couple dining at a nearby table. They seemed delighted when we
offered to use their camera so they could be in the same photo. The
lady appeared to have Parkinson's disease, and I think they were
really brave and determined to face such travel under the
circumstances. They seem so happy to be there. I hope they continue
to enjoy their holiday. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Then
we brave</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the heat and climbed up to the ruins of the old Venetian </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">amparts
abo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ve</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the town. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
was not much left of them and the area of dead dried grass and
thistles and a couple of scraggy olive trees was given over to a
pathetic pair of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">k</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ri-</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">k</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ri
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">goats</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tethered</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
there in the sun's heat without food or water. From here we had a
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ista
of the rooftop</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of the town. In the streets below you only notice the white-washed
walls and flat roofs. Up here you </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">can
see</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
that each room has its own water system, central heating </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">il
supply, various television aerials and an assortment of solar panels.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
All v<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ery
ugly in fact, but also very practical. Where buildings have been
given red tiled pitched roofs they look</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
most attractive by contrast. One thing in a land of limestone, where
the raw materials for cement manufacture </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
all around, is that imagination is the only limitation on what and
how you build. It seems that structures are built on a modular system
using reinforcing iron rods through the centre of concrete pillars.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
frame is in filled in with cement poured into a mould formed by two
skins of wooden plank</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
which is later removed. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">his
rough and ready framework can then be finished a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the fancy takes one and finally colour washed. The effect can be
quite spectacular, with all sorts of finials and archways in concrete
and the use of black paint to contrast door and window surrounds with
the walls. Here in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">P</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aleochora
it had been taken to excess with a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ew
church, highly ornate, entirely in concrete, including the cross on
the top. The </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">whole
was</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">coloured</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
pink and white. In front was a concrete gateway top</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ped</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with a cross and looking like </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">something</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
between a centrepiece for a wedding cake and an Eleanor's cross as
seen in certain market squares in England. If </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">done</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
tongue in cheek, it was quite good fun, but I suspect it is intended
to be taken seriously. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">All
that climbing ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
made us hot. On returning to the seafront we sat on the jetty and
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">dangled
our</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
feet in the cool clear water and watch</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the fishes exploring around our feet. Maybe they gave off the nice
sweaty smell for them. Then, along the street </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on
our way </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">back
to the car we stopped at a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hady
cafe on frequented by the local people for an ice-cream. We were sent
to choose them from the freezer so I also help</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
myself to a couple of ice cubes from the corner of the cabinet which
melted in seconds when rubbed on arms and legs. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">O</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ut
of the wind </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
temperature was as hot as ever, but it is astonishing the difference
a breeze can make. We sat in the shade on the street watching the
everyday life of the town, trying to fathom its mysteries. Why did
the elderly lady open the door of her dilapidated house opposite the
cafe and shout at a man on the cafe </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">errace?
Why did he cross the road and shake her hand before disappearing
inside to emerge later to speak to the cafe owner who in turn </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ross</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to the old lad</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y’</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
house </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Clut</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ching
an enormous bag of around </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
hundred</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
bread rolls? What was she doing with them in her tiny house? She
couldn't get that hungry surely. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
mystery unsolved, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
returned to the car and drove up the road again, twisting away up
into the mountains. The car behind had a blue light on top and police
written down the side. I hate the idea of navigating </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">endless</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
hairpin bends with the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Cretan</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
police in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ot
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ursuit.
It would have made a good TV advert for the Fiat Cinquecento though.
Ian reckon we could find an alternative route back on minor roads
through the mountains, provided the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">roads
were</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
not just </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">dirt</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
tracks. We turned off, the police continued on. The roads were
tarmaced, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">although</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the heat </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
cause</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
all the t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ar</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to go soft and runny, and there was very little traffic. The scenery
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">was</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
stupendous but it was a little scary up there with the huge grey mass
of white mountains looming ominously above us and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">an
unfenced</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad
with </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">poholes</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and drops of hundreds of feet </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">just
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">inches
from </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wheels. Ian was pretty scared at times on the outside </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">dge
and of course, with </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">endles</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
hairpin bends, you never know what m</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ight
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">be
around </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
next corner</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
We climbed up</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wards</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
for ever, the sunlight was glaring and the wind away from the sea was
minimal, so we w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ere</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
really hot and sticky. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">At
last </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
reached the point where we </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
int</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ended
to turn off to the sea at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ougia,
but you can have too much of mountain roads, so turned inland towards
C</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nia.
The road was slightly less </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">barren</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and deserted, passing through villages. In one of these they </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">just
killed a sheep and a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">mid
the</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
blood t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">illage</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rs
were</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
starting to remove the animal skin. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
didn't </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">linger</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to watch. Several times on b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">end</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
I pulled over to allow jeeps putting boats on trailers to pass by,
twisting their way down to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sougia</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to launch them. Surely it would be easier to go round by </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ea.
You must be really keen to take a boat up over a pa</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ss</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of some 3,300 </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">feet
high</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
so down the long descent, leaving the barren mountains </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">behind
us. A</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
we descended shrubs and then trees appear</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed,
and t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
countryside became green and beautiful, always with the white
mountains looming above and the va</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lley</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
still far below, the sea of the North Coast now visible from time to
time. Eventually we left the mountains </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">completely,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and travel</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">led</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
through endless rows of fruit trees, past houses and through villages
alive with beautiful brightly coloured flowers. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Eventually
we reached</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
studio from where I went for a welcome pl</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">unge
and twenty</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
lengths of a deserted pool. Then, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">back
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on
our balcony, w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">atch</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the cat </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
her</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
tiny kittens as we si</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pped</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">C</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">retan
wine and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">gazed
at the Levka Ori as it </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">turned
from white to yellow to pink to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lack
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
the sun set over the R</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">odopos</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Peninsula. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday
3 June 2001.</b> </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">awn</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
as glaring and hot as ever but without any sign of wind. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Panic
immediately set in. We decided to visit the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">krotiri
Peninsula on the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ar
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ide
of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Chania</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
for two main reasons, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">firstly
it </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
not far to drive, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
secondly </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">there
are two monasteries which should provide welcome shade. It being
Sunday, we had no problem in getting through </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Chani</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
but then got totally confused in the one-way system that kept sending
us round in circles. Eventually we ended up at the entrance to the
Venizelos </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tombs.
Eleftherios Venizelos was </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">born
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">near
Chania and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
fought for the union of Crete with Greece – </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">it
was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1646 until 1898</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
He was prime minister of Greece from 1910 and died in 1936. There is
also </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
tomb of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">his
son S</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ophoklis</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
also a </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Cretan</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
politician who died in 196</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">4</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
The site is on a hilltop with superb views of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Chania,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arbour
and the bay. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
is a little c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hapel
with an </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">iconostasi</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
depicting a number of Greek saints in the typical stylised </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">manne</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r.
It is very attractive little church, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
there a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re
also lovely shady gardens filled with local </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lants
and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lowers
laid out attractive</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ly</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hady
vistas down to the town. There a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re
c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aro</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and pine trees, flowering cactu</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">se</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s,
shaped privet hedges, and plenty of bright geraniums. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5H-OSs55vTkITBPfvBe-GjZU4yFyHr5YtgvOWx62gapapHiCxr-xBLGa4l0Y3NG8gnw8AiOqH4_1v5LI9BV_3ZXSs_jxfIDoDgmj5KihSF4XdGOaU0kVMGVk9dmgJjUZ6TL-T1EUeXVko1UgPxXOUj9P_jaOjsvFGoW81-linp5FfP4dVA/s1280/740-12-Profitis-Ilias.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1280" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5H-OSs55vTkITBPfvBe-GjZU4yFyHr5YtgvOWx62gapapHiCxr-xBLGa4l0Y3NG8gnw8AiOqH4_1v5LI9BV_3ZXSs_jxfIDoDgmj5KihSF4XdGOaU0kVMGVk9dmgJjUZ6TL-T1EUeXVko1UgPxXOUj9P_jaOjsvFGoW81-linp5FfP4dVA/s320/740-12-Profitis-Ilias.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Profitis Ilias, view toward Chania</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguw-QJbWrlH6--zG0FiCDao3s3r5dCyD9t3_npngTX-Jdt2eajC81a62n-mGhXVpJzr7kCwplqsj005GU6S_ZFm_Azqg5s2n7eR70qCWRiSDn9v3eDIYsEqCOaGHSlp8RAnBBkSCmK5QgmDb7q9KW2wI6TdnKhUUCL19Y0XupMITwN8C9jmg/s1280/740-13-Profitis-Ilias.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguw-QJbWrlH6--zG0FiCDao3s3r5dCyD9t3_npngTX-Jdt2eajC81a62n-mGhXVpJzr7kCwplqsj005GU6S_ZFm_Azqg5s2n7eR70qCWRiSDn9v3eDIYsEqCOaGHSlp8RAnBBkSCmK5QgmDb7q9KW2wI6TdnKhUUCL19Y0XupMITwN8C9jmg/s320/740-13-Profitis-Ilias.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Profitis Ilias, Venizelos graves</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
realise</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
that a christening in the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pen
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ir
outside the church was about to take place, so </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
lingered to watch. The front was set up, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">en</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">circle</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with flowers. The</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
were loudspeakers and video cameras </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">uests,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ressed
quite smartly for such hot weather, for</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">gathered.
To judge by their number, their clothes, and the smart car</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in the car park, it was a rather expensive baptism for the wealthy
set of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Chani</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a.
The bab</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y’</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
mother was dressed in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hite.
The </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">odfather
held the baby and had an important role. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
little godmother </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aged
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">about
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">twelve,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
held a white burning candle throughout the ceremony which lasted an
hour. Along the wall at the side of the church </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">were</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
presents for each guest: </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
sticky cake, each with a pink ribbon on </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">because</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
it was a little girl, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which
also became</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
evident at the total immersion in the font which is conducted with
the baby naked. The priest </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">looked
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">quite
awesome with his black cassock, white embroidered ceremonial robes,
huge black beard and long hair. He chanted in Greek, struggling
against the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oisy
rasping of a lone cicada in one of the nearby </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">olea</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nders.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
only recognisable phrases were “Kyrie eleison” and “allelujah”.
Candles burned, the baby was a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nnointed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with oil and then immersed in the font. Parents, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">god</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">parents
and priest processed around the font while all the guests stood
around chatting with each other and only showed any real interest
when the poor little baby was plunged into the ornate font we ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
previously seen being filled with water from a red plastic bucket.
The baby was really good and didn't yell either at the anointing,
baptising or being forced to wear a headdress of white silk flowers.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
was a most interesting </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nterlude,
standing beneath the shade of a palm tree shelter</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
from the heat, and a lovely setting for such an event.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
We slipped away as it ne</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ar</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed
what we assume as the end - it wasn't easy to tell </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
priest was still chanting for all </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was worth, but people </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">were
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ndering
about and helping themselves </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the little sticky cakes by now and the video projectionist was
packing up to go home. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqb4a6B0XJYc0jp2jyiT4eeBXnr0WcQmrvPokLCw5kL08bTRNtnCy77Luy4LfKWrx7wnBNb-b6ZN3sbgFtuv_ThjqshCBbuuAcafLgFoVLv7DZktZYGk3tKuMPKIN4Jdhe9O7hTUqra8S69qF_8USMncZi46f-YCHBJtXYX3JWvrKGFzAWug/s1280/740-14.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1280" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqb4a6B0XJYc0jp2jyiT4eeBXnr0WcQmrvPokLCw5kL08bTRNtnCy77Luy4LfKWrx7wnBNb-b6ZN3sbgFtuv_ThjqshCBbuuAcafLgFoVLv7DZktZYGk3tKuMPKIN4Jdhe9O7hTUqra8S69qF_8USMncZi46f-YCHBJtXYX3JWvrKGFzAWug/s320/740-14.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9pEv2S1W3G9FfHyMhhwpTHy4eHFM8cyRz2iNrHvDluHYPREwVJNUzQhl-7n6oQFV0i7NxYzbQTTGF5TjvcxRYR2iXhKfedS18mRrCRfKitiJSVELNtEPE7GaQ0lzq91S7KP8KjPS9DOCpaKjc4wWQjr7tIaNcuZrT4FQyPu9othiS7X-hQ/s1280/740-15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9pEv2S1W3G9FfHyMhhwpTHy4eHFM8cyRz2iNrHvDluHYPREwVJNUzQhl-7n6oQFV0i7NxYzbQTTGF5TjvcxRYR2iXhKfedS18mRrCRfKitiJSVELNtEPE7GaQ0lzq91S7KP8KjPS9DOCpaKjc4wWQjr7tIaNcuZrT4FQyPu9othiS7X-hQ/s320/740-15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Christening at Profitis Ilias - seen from sidelines</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>So we drove out further on to the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>A</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>krotiri Peninsula to the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, set at the end of an avenue of pine trees with the monaster</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>y’</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>s vines and olive </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>trees</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span> surrounding the pale orange coloured monastery walls. Through the gateway, the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>ardens and the entrance of the church welcome</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>d u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>s. The church is cool and dark, the floor scattered with olive leaves, the ceiling painted blue with golden </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>tars. From the roof of the central cupola Christ looks down in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span> pose displaying a blessing on us mortals below. The altar is hidden behind the ornate icon</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>osta</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>s </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>bu</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>t there are a number of beautiful icons and the usual gold and silver church ornaments. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1EXUERzbyTinSbThQQWN8q6M8dJBHQoYw17JrRUX1hkkUQ0kPMIiHvz2-lFYnkG_khBHUstusUXDpNNSuY6jwPDZ6ZB9LLmMh9ruDtJRl0GWsl9nDUn_kjCWcjx6JrTAD2olbh2n33lUig1EJaFLLcZQquvMWT1-LopM6NWcgxkhmMarGw/s1280/740-16-Akrotiri-Triada.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1EXUERzbyTinSbThQQWN8q6M8dJBHQoYw17JrRUX1hkkUQ0kPMIiHvz2-lFYnkG_khBHUstusUXDpNNSuY6jwPDZ6ZB9LLmMh9ruDtJRl0GWsl9nDUn_kjCWcjx6JrTAD2olbh2n33lUig1EJaFLLcZQquvMWT1-LopM6NWcgxkhmMarGw/s320/740-16-Akrotiri-Triada.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i>Akrotiri, Moni Agia Triada</i></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwMji2w2X6EnmAgja6eaRu1cmXq8MIzit0PEZzXSQn4AmjCk3sEk1b6HiuV9r4qN29KKNGNWBHiJFGTBWORUri9R9T07apBPmlWuaG7Yrb1d28kZbprX-soby-FIBDNDegTiVFSajsbwCtmMMFfRQs4LKraFWk62mNS8Ku5R2SG47phCklw/s1280/740-17-Akrotiri-Triada.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwMji2w2X6EnmAgja6eaRu1cmXq8MIzit0PEZzXSQn4AmjCk3sEk1b6HiuV9r4qN29KKNGNWBHiJFGTBWORUri9R9T07apBPmlWuaG7Yrb1d28kZbprX-soby-FIBDNDegTiVFSajsbwCtmMMFfRQs4LKraFWk62mNS8Ku5R2SG47phCklw/s320/740-17-Akrotiri-Triada.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Akrotiri, Moni Agia Triada</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCXniZ7Xh-okA-4BQPb0iN3bdjqYmilAGJ3iK0MgxitA4pPf6B95vzowc02ZPhIFb5wHnhrXpzaS1Xpq-vrc35ySRe8JNoVyoxUFCUbsdEmhnfB_ECU0p5b1boanIKIZQTwkA5v6oqRJmq6bVOqG_7dM4ixZm4h7NQgK1aoy3LgvEr3t4tA/s1280/740-18-Akrotiri-Triada.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="855" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCXniZ7Xh-okA-4BQPb0iN3bdjqYmilAGJ3iK0MgxitA4pPf6B95vzowc02ZPhIFb5wHnhrXpzaS1Xpq-vrc35ySRe8JNoVyoxUFCUbsdEmhnfB_ECU0p5b1boanIKIZQTwkA5v6oqRJmq6bVOqG_7dM4ixZm4h7NQgK1aoy3LgvEr3t4tA/s320/740-18-Akrotiri-Triada.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Akrotiri, Moni Agia Triada</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was a lunchtime celebration taking place. As we p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eeped</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at
a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
window in the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">loisters,
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we
could</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
see the daunting si</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ght</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of a whole row of church dignitaries in full black </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">egalia,
including </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">fe</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">z,
sitting down to a celebratory meal. As </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
wandered around the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eaceful
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">loisters
and looked at the dome</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
of</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">m</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onastery
roof, the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">inky
orange white-wash</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
walls, the huge </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">shady</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
palm trees and the fruiting citrus trees dropping their orange and
yellow fruit into the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">carlet
geranium beds beneath, w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
greeted by a man who gave us each </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
delicious macaron. The rest of the box </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">destined
for</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the banquet w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
had</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
seen a few moments previously. We lingered as long as we decently
could in the shady garden and beneath the huge stone entrance, but
eventually brave</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the heat to continue to the next monastery that of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Gouverneto,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
set on a Headland overlooking the sea 2.5 km further on. The
country</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">side
was</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
straight out of a cowboy film, with an unmetalled </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad
twisting itself through scraggy countryside littered with dry white
boulders. A perfect setting for a moussaka western. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
temperature was unbelievably hot yet the</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
were little groups of people walking the road between the two
convents. None seem to have any water and there was none on offer
when they reach</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the second monastery from where they have had to walk all the way
back and beyond to get a drink. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">M</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ost
appear</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to be Dutch. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCm_CRUwVs_SmkVHDKwHT7Uo6y1Pw2p7DSJAPzCw2ItxX5WFViPL86GocWxmZRQbemJMOL7B4LN-qU1woLg6M-1qc9C5wnLpO7snZEkAnBmVbFm-0lLBWdUysSre2FA6tA4aSKbZCH86x_OvOHJjITkZnMcOWd2qD2TWUEWqCQnnHUzUu93A/s1280/740-19-Akrotiri-Gouvernetou.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCm_CRUwVs_SmkVHDKwHT7Uo6y1Pw2p7DSJAPzCw2ItxX5WFViPL86GocWxmZRQbemJMOL7B4LN-qU1woLg6M-1qc9C5wnLpO7snZEkAnBmVbFm-0lLBWdUysSre2FA6tA4aSKbZCH86x_OvOHJjITkZnMcOWd2qD2TWUEWqCQnnHUzUu93A/s320/740-19-Akrotiri-Gouvernetou.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i>Akrotiri, Moni Gouvernetou</i></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4v9kGzcQBU6wHmppDOtQ-dhQtJZw9TYY5NcA3odbT4m2_tNFf_kg5q-8V6ixO7GZWk53tEjxBh5NScfCx2kiE7H5uD9I_y-VSWExohzdqDntOxbcII0luSOY7VGky9WWuXWkMSVpSorff7ww6cE2vYKje83fx7X3usHDdHJ4yeC82f7rt4A/s1280/740-20-Akrotiri-Gouvernetou.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1280" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4v9kGzcQBU6wHmppDOtQ-dhQtJZw9TYY5NcA3odbT4m2_tNFf_kg5q-8V6ixO7GZWk53tEjxBh5NScfCx2kiE7H5uD9I_y-VSWExohzdqDntOxbcII0luSOY7VGky9WWuXWkMSVpSorff7ww6cE2vYKje83fx7X3usHDdHJ4yeC82f7rt4A/s320/740-20-Akrotiri-Gouvernetou.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Akrotiri, Moni Gouvernetou</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This
mon</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">astery</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is different from the other. The contrast of the cool flowering
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ardens
inside the thick peach washed wall</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
arid </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rocks
and shimmering glare of sunlight on the sea is striking. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
coo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">darkness
of the shady walls is like ointment on a throbbing sore. I could have
stayed for the rest of the day. The church is far more ornate, with
carved monster heads and foliage on the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">acade.
Surrounding the church, set into the walls, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the cells of the monks with their tiny doorways. Again the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ardens
drip oranges and lemons </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
figs are</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
forming on green, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hady
trees. There must be a deep well for water somewhere but we never saw
it. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Monks
were w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">andering
around in white shirts and black trousers but still looking very
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">riestly
with the</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ir</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
long hair and be</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ard</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Outside
in the desert again, we couldn't wait to put this parched searing
landscape behind us. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Pity
the poor folk who had walked there and now needed to walk back. The
read led nowhere further except to a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
tiny </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hapel,
accessible only on foot down a rock</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
path</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to the sea - not </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">something
to be considered on</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a day like today. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian’s
Baedeker map</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was useless on this </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eninsula,
the roads were either not marked or Mr </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Baedeker
had</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
looked at the landscape and thought “</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sod</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
that, I'm off to the beach for a swim and a cold beer”, and gues</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
at w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hat
might be out there</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Any</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">way,
we found out driving around in circles. The </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">signposts
were virtually</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
non-existent or written in Greek. Sitting in the car trying to first
transliterate the text, then find it on the map in that heat render</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
me very bad tempered. So we st</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">opped</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
somewhere on the coast, we still </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">have
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">no
idea where, but there was a beach, some tavernas, and lots of people
enjoying themselves, so we joined them. It seemed mainly local people
probably out from Chania to enjoy the family Sunday on the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">each.
Generally to</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
everyone look</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
less sunburn</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
than the average summer visitor. We reckon the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eadland
is the wrong side of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Chani</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
for most of the tourist resorts and yet accessible for locals. We had
a delicious lunch of che</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f’</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
special salad followed by m</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ous</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">saka
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
grilled chicken accompanied by </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">iced</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
water. All around us Greek families, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">three</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
generation sometimes, sat sharing a beachside lunch. Later we sort
the shade of a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">amarisk
on the beach and slept for one and a half hours, sharing our beach
towel, with a comfortable breeze from the sea and Greek families
either doing likewise or playing in the little waves at the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ater's
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">dge.
Then we made our way home</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">war</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ds,
getting further lost on the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eadland.
A car hug</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ged</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
my tail on the badly surface</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
narrow road, trying to overtake. I decided to take the next right
fork to put off the road to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">let
him</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
past. I signal</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">led
and pulled</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in. He </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">followed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
right without indicating his intention to do so, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
would not have stopped, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">assuming
he was going straight on </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">along
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wid</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">er
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
skidded</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and hoo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed
as he just stopped before hitting the back of t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
car. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
upset me at the time, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
I ended up with an angry macho Greek accusing me of bad driving. If
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he’d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
not been trying to force past me it wouldn't have happened. That's
the last time I tri</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to pull over to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">let
them pass.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Ian calm</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the situation for suddenly remembering the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Greek
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">word
for “sorry”. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o
have a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wimp</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of an English male who let his stupid </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wife</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
driv</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
him</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
around apologis</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
in</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Greek restore</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the chap’s ego, and he drove off </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">no
harm done. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ctually
the Greek male is an appalling </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">river
Road courtesy is something he knows nothing about. They never signal,
drive with </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">their
a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rms
dangling over the edge of the door, sto</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
anywhere, shout and hoot at friends, ignore no entry signs and one
way system</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and even drive the wrong way down dual carriageways. We </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">have
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">see</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
whole family on one moped. Nobody wears a crash helmet we even </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">saw</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a cha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with his huge bulldog between his knees tearing along and high-speed,
the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">og's
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aws
on the handlebars obviously enjoying the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">reeze
in its face! How can </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">they</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
get away with all this and insinuate that I'm the bad driver? There
are very few women drivers, and even amo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ng</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
tourists I have not yet seen any other vehicle where the woman drives
and the man is a passenger. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
made our way back to Georgi</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o’s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and I went for my solitary 25 lengths of the pool, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">what
bliss, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
whil</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
Ian</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
showered. We </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">finished
our wine on the patio and walked down the hill for some more, where
we were r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ecommend</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a good local </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ine
by delightful young man with excellent English. However we don't
think much of his taste in wine. It </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">al</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
and lifeless,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and give us as much satisfaction </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
voting </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">L</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">iberal
will in the election this coming Thursday. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday
5 June 2001.</b></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(I
was</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
too tired and squi</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ff</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
to write anything last night</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">All
the time I water, otherwise the plants they die” s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aid</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Giorgio to us yesterday morning as we set off for a final day in
Cre</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">te</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
It sums it up; </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ere
we are, surrounded by pretty flowering shrubs and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hady
olive trees but f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
away from our balcony we watched the mother cat and the three kittens</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
where they nest in the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ead
dried grass and weeds of the neighbouring field. Life, even for
Georgi</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is a constant struggle against the elements of this strange country
where, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
we discovered, violent winds can blow up from nowhere and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">isappear
again just as abruptly, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">here
there is no rain for </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">five</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
months of the year and virtually no running stream or natural lakes
and ponds, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">yet</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
rain must fall heavily at other times to judge by the boulders and
rubble washed down from the mountains to be seen along </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
length of the dried-up riverbeds. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Water</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
must be below the surface to</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
as the</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">river
beds</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
are frequently ma</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">gined
by bamboo plants and their </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">little
estua</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ries
seem to support more flowering weeds and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wild
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">plants
than elsewhere on the hillside. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
day was already hot but we decided to at least look at the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Imbros</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Gorge; it might be </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hady.
If not we </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">would
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">continue
down to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">H</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ora
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">fakion
on the south coast, one of the few accessible little towns in the
heart of what is what is even today regarded as wild </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">andit
country. This area until the 1950s, when a road was cut through, was
a very isolated and fiercely independent part of Cre</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">te</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with nothing but unmade, unmarked donkey tracks linking </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
few </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">amlets
to be found in this mountainous inhospitable region. Even today there
is a strong sense of isolation as you drive the twisting </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad
through the barren countryside and the little villages. That said,
whenever the land </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lend</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
itself the cultivation, it has been used, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or
olives, fruit trees, apples and pears rather than citrus fruits.
There is a constant melodious tinkle and clang </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lls
around the ne</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cks</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of the sheep </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
roam</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wild. Little </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">black</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
goats c</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">im</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the vertical recently h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ew</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
rock at the roadside </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">where</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
attempts have been made to improve the width on the countless hairpin
bends. This causes a clatter of rocks and stones to bounce down onto
the road which is </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">littered
a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">long
is inside edge with fallen rubble around </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which
you d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rive
gingerly, fearful at all times </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">th</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at
more may come down. We saw one car abandoned, i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">roof</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
dented and no glass in the windows, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
obvious victim of a ro</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ckfall,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and we were </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re
driving an open top vehicle. We stopped about halfway </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a really ugly, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aud</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
recently constructed </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hurch
built on a very imposing </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ocky
outcrop dominating a fertile flat pla</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
that seems to be the norm in these high mountain areas – </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Lassithi
and Omalos</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
for example. This one, A</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">skifou,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
even seem</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to have </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ields
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">grain
still </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ripen</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing,
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
season being definitely </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ate</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
than</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
lower </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">own.
The </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">plain</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
lies at 730 m</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eters</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and the mountains, still towering above, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">even
now packed in places with ice and snow. Little </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">amlets
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sur</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">round
the pla</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
linked by </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">usty
tracks. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ugly
a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
the church is, on the other side of the road is a little </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">taverna
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">run
by a delightful young </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">woman</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
It seems to be her home and her children played in the back room, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">but
it is a lonely, isolated</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
place for children, with no garden to play </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in,
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">indeed
nowhere outside at all for them. We s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
on her cool </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">errace
with a gentle breeze c</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ling
us, drinking fresh orange juice. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">mother
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">seem</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to speak at least three languages, switching from English to German
to Greek according to her customers, cooking all the orders, serving
at tables, and sorting out her kids when they quarrel</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">led</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">At
Imbr</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
we parked under a pear t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ree
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">followed
a very uneven track across the hillside, turning left down the dri</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed
up s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tony
river bed </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">that</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
eventually led into the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">orge.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
was no</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
spectacular </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">entrance,
un</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">like
t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Samaria Gorge, and we were beginning to regret coming. How w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ould
w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
survive walking back across this open landscape in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eat
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ay?
Still, we continued down, grateful for the mountaineering sticks Neil
had given us </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
added great</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ly
t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o
our confidence on </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">such
r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ocky
stony ground. Then we found a man selling tickets, for the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">orge
proper, 500 drachmas each as sanitary dues to the municipality of
S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">faki</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
There are no facilities of any kind in the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">orge
except about fo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
waste paper bins </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">long
i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">five-mile</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
length. What a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">long
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">way
to go to collect lazy hikers’ rubbish! We were told we could get a
bus or taxi back from the coast, so decided to walk right through. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWg5TBPeKgI349slMZMhuGpRpXomNZl4umwObGa-lWbcKH1psSidsgdFI6BY-FEP_lbfonReyjy3jqPsJhbfn8cRKQ3YyCDi0VOWoA22kwkdkzGTKz5Zr9qEGOoeE_QXnehCAGX2U0gWxe8q-t6x8_M9TQ8xBBW88-0Aa_UpPPkM6-bb75A/s1280/740-21-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWg5TBPeKgI349slMZMhuGpRpXomNZl4umwObGa-lWbcKH1psSidsgdFI6BY-FEP_lbfonReyjy3jqPsJhbfn8cRKQ3YyCDi0VOWoA22kwkdkzGTKz5Zr9qEGOoeE_QXnehCAGX2U0gWxe8q-t6x8_M9TQ8xBBW88-0Aa_UpPPkM6-bb75A/w161-h214/740-21-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" width="161" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzxVCIsPZOCLwuDpABlO2mGFFYUXLG4vI8G-rgK752cNIKLtHGwvl93ZIb0pdkwMbjObjU1OasUq4G-Te8WI9IUfu0Iy4OmcR18Z4KgUuM7b8Tn9FNBUyTBadOmVg1PihZJ-8Kv4ZPMggHeAk1RPq6tsBUYUg4jqhPdLDijn2N2OOBj1N4Q/s1280/740-22-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="878" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzxVCIsPZOCLwuDpABlO2mGFFYUXLG4vI8G-rgK752cNIKLtHGwvl93ZIb0pdkwMbjObjU1OasUq4G-Te8WI9IUfu0Iy4OmcR18Z4KgUuM7b8Tn9FNBUyTBadOmVg1PihZJ-8Kv4ZPMggHeAk1RPq6tsBUYUg4jqhPdLDijn2N2OOBj1N4Q/w152-h222/740-22-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><i>Imbros Gorge</i></div><div><br /></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">To
begin with there were lots of people but it soon emptied out. It
seems most people go in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
little</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
way and then go back. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was a pleasant breeze, fir trees both in the dried-up river bed and
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">growing
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">from
rocks up the side of the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arrow
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">orge
that a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
times</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
closed in to only </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eight</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
feet in width. Over the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">five-mile</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
length, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">there
is a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
drop </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">perhaps
2,000 f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t.
There </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wa</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
plenty of shade, and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ld</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ers</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to rest on. The pa</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">th
was rough</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and the main fear was </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
twisted ankles, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ut
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">th</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">escent
was pleasant, really enjoyable and not ar</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">duous.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
I'm glad I was going down rather than up though. We watched </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
large green B</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">alka</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
lizard running across the white boulders, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">un</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">concerned
by our presence, pausing from time to time before disappearing. They
seem to run on their back legs and they really are huge compared with
ordinary lizards, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
the same is true of many</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of the insects, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">uge
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bee</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tles,
grasshoppers and b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ee</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
We could hear the blea</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing
of goats on the ledges far above us and looking high, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">high</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
above we could see the top of the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">orge
lined with trees against the brilliant blue sky. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FlQD2eDvj-lnWAYrZUeuxrxHgOWTrWgR7gND1BzkEjDMrZwnaTshLVM_nA1WWhcoT7J-LV8PxQsvduIxH38l5K8lEfPPU2JYNO2HyiaxLxXai7BpbOLylInL7-y_pAiH6SbRnQ3LLWBkCWbbG1KxFb9PvtKM9pF3dmECNcP3sS8LG0txUg/s1280/740-23-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="847" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FlQD2eDvj-lnWAYrZUeuxrxHgOWTrWgR7gND1BzkEjDMrZwnaTshLVM_nA1WWhcoT7J-LV8PxQsvduIxH38l5K8lEfPPU2JYNO2HyiaxLxXai7BpbOLylInL7-y_pAiH6SbRnQ3LLWBkCWbbG1KxFb9PvtKM9pF3dmECNcP3sS8LG0txUg/w139-h209/740-23-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" width="139" /></a> </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEVCKtoVu6up_jzVHB_VTQdFl8d1hE31Pf12dD3SpyIPSV8R02bxI31NcWjkdfpMO88fTMptvExIiF98ghkb7oQE6Wguh9CzqeCtiJT4CI7ccLAU6htzWr6cgnH8pizUoBtXS2jUKlpAUjoBnK7uu8KubzmLhmihYFbdgwFHKYbUamyGPcg/s1280/740-24-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEVCKtoVu6up_jzVHB_VTQdFl8d1hE31Pf12dD3SpyIPSV8R02bxI31NcWjkdfpMO88fTMptvExIiF98ghkb7oQE6Wguh9CzqeCtiJT4CI7ccLAU6htzWr6cgnH8pizUoBtXS2jUKlpAUjoBnK7uu8KubzmLhmihYFbdgwFHKYbUamyGPcg/w157-h209/740-24-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" width="157" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Imbros</i> Gorge</i></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWvbsRZRK04vrXubwXrndego2O9PZg2VwszBJRdIblNN0qbmKv1gtN3DUuGFRShPLSv_VMT0aqg9auO94hIEBknX_WAo1ysnJemK3GIRC1J-Tt09fwXj1vZNKI-2SdbTblMd4B3HS-E04XZYr3RHQwII4eXTmPBhiP7x4dJ0w6IsLiY7VkA/s1280/740-25-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWvbsRZRK04vrXubwXrndego2O9PZg2VwszBJRdIblNN0qbmKv1gtN3DUuGFRShPLSv_VMT0aqg9auO94hIEBknX_WAo1ysnJemK3GIRC1J-Tt09fwXj1vZNKI-2SdbTblMd4B3HS-E04XZYr3RHQwII4eXTmPBhiP7x4dJ0w6IsLiY7VkA/s320/740-25-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Imbros</i><i> Gorge</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBbotRmH_s8m-L0V1sIM-rwnB4GUMh7Z9AQT_7F9dYkqC_gWBcYWVglPAHNq9-l_k6UrsCuTYyyYYTn_JJv8trvI4dqpmUG6cIlVzV4vgsJJhbb8kHbVDszD9chXg6CmHUWUk-WtfOL8jmE_uG_TAxxgTewiean8lDuxLxLEmPo4-oJmTLA/s1280/740-26-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="823" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBbotRmH_s8m-L0V1sIM-rwnB4GUMh7Z9AQT_7F9dYkqC_gWBcYWVglPAHNq9-l_k6UrsCuTYyyYYTn_JJv8trvI4dqpmUG6cIlVzV4vgsJJhbb8kHbVDszD9chXg6CmHUWUk-WtfOL8jmE_uG_TAxxgTewiean8lDuxLxLEmPo4-oJmTLA/s320/740-26-Imbros-Gorge.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Imbros</i><i> Gorge</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">About half way down
we came upon a man checking tickets. He had very little English so
did n</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
understand my remark that it was a lonely job but told us, “morning,
groups, now, two maybe three people. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hen
little while maybe two maybe three again.” </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
had seen</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
nobody for a while at this point. He had his patient donkey tied to a
tree and two large dogs snoozed in the sunshine, supposed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ly</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to protect him if necessary, but it </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
doubtful </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">if
they would have</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
even woken up. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6KXavm7fR7HOJH4m4ZV5INxc7iXlzo3LgeU7axnudEg8BP-f3nubYCh0ZBEHr4I3l8hhQUI33IfeB4i-Wj8tzdveNGT5db-tl8rC3vCGe9UGkrEm0VCz2r9yV4W-0DROnVhX3xRskqVriQrS2AFROvOzE74-4UTwYrLcOqQRwucCu938sQ/s1280/740-27-Hora-Sfakion.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6KXavm7fR7HOJH4m4ZV5INxc7iXlzo3LgeU7axnudEg8BP-f3nubYCh0ZBEHr4I3l8hhQUI33IfeB4i-Wj8tzdveNGT5db-tl8rC3vCGe9UGkrEm0VCz2r9yV4W-0DROnVhX3xRskqVriQrS2AFROvOzE74-4UTwYrLcOqQRwucCu938sQ/s320/740-27-Hora-Sfakion.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Hora Sfakion</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhES_IYSW8E8Ab_Z9fo6z88NRTe_Ni9vyCz6HC4-FUp-4mMrbOovbBGeAI1mF831a1ZP0IeJyZCrKIt0XnBQ_DrLQuJQ-9QRy1NA0Tptgl8UjDPwHu_M4q0IAS5z9P7LXbc0k9bi_w9PPZd-oN9IX5gIvGpFi9dWPPyK8xdzOYy1g-LEUZ3DA/s1280/740-28-Hora-Sfakion.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1280" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhES_IYSW8E8Ab_Z9fo6z88NRTe_Ni9vyCz6HC4-FUp-4mMrbOovbBGeAI1mF831a1ZP0IeJyZCrKIt0XnBQ_DrLQuJQ-9QRy1NA0Tptgl8UjDPwHu_M4q0IAS5z9P7LXbc0k9bi_w9PPZd-oN9IX5gIvGpFi9dWPPyK8xdzOYy1g-LEUZ3DA/s320/740-28-Hora-Sfakion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Hora Sfakion</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We did </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">no</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
even feel particularly weary when we round</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a rock and, like Xenophon's soldiers, shouted “</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thalassa!”
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sea
at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">last
appeared. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
had</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
crossed Cre</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">te
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
were looking down on the Libyan </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ea
with the little town </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sfaki</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
on the coast still far below </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">us.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hortly
after this we left the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">orge
and followed a track up through old stone walls surrounding olive
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">roves,
each with a black net roll</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
up underneath. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">C</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ome
the harvest in December they will be spread out beneath the trees to
catch the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lives
as they are presumably beaten from the trees. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
track led to a cafe with ice cold drinks and a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hady
balcony </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">like
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">an
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">agle’s
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eyrie,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
down onto the road and the sea way below. We were told a bus could
take us down from here in 30-minutes to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sfakia,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
from where a bus would drop us back at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Imbris</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on its way to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Cha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nia.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">his
work</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
fine with a few minor cris</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s,
like nearly missing the bus from the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">taver</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">na
because it came early and we had t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o
clamber</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
down to the road. The wa</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">iter
yelled</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to the driver to wait, and we </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cramble</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">board
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
cold b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
with air conditioning. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Oh
joy!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Then
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">down
to S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">akia
where we </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">piled
out</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to wait with lots of other people who gone up in the morning to the
Samaria Gorge, walked the 12 to 14 k</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ilometers</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
through, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
then</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
taken a boat around the coast </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">there
is no </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad
out </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
foot of the Samaria Gorge, the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nly
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ay
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ut
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">being</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
by boat, and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">they
were now</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
returning by bus to Chania. I wish to modify my remarks about Greek
drivers. I have every possible </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">res</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pect
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">for</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bus
drivers on these </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">m</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ountain
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The route up from S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">akia
to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">mbros
is second to none, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ndless
twists </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
it co</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rk</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">screws
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">its
way, the front almost into the next bend before the back </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">has</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
rounded the previous </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">one</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Up</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">up</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
we climbed; we </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">descended
this depth through the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">avine
earlier. Never did it seem to reach the top. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
took a view down onto the coast; it looked more as if if we were in a
plane than </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on
a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
bus. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
were</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
dropped </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">just
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">feet
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">away
f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rom
where we </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">left
the car, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
perfect day’s achievement. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
has done</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
much to improve our feelings about this holiday. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
last </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we
feel a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
sense of real achievement, only possible because of the gentle breeze
playing in the mountains all day. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We descended in our car down the
northern slopes of the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Levka
Ori</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and follow</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ld
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad
back towards Chania, passing through pleasant little villages such as
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Vrysai</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
The </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">andscape
was such a contrast with higher up, or indeed the rest of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Crete</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
He</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">there
were thick</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wooded </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">alleys
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
bushes and green grass</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">es</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is by the wayside. It was almost like England in August! We drove
through </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">extensive</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
areas of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hady
woodland, then fields of fruit and vegetables. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">C</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">itrus
fruits li</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ttered</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the roadside </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
most fertile </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">reen
area w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
had</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
seen. We crossed a bridge and actually saw for the first time the
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">parkle
of sunlight on a clear flowing stream. A</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ld
white-haired man sat on the parapet looking down into the water; </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">it</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is obviously not just us that it attracts. A wind seem</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to have sprung up, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
it hit u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">full
force </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
we rounded a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
bend on the coast road at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">K</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">alyvas
on the edge of S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">uda
Bay. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
was n</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ot
at all cold, but </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">very
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">strong.
We stopped to look across the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ay
from this angle at t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wo
island</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
place</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
just inside the mouth of the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ay,
which seems very deep and well protected all round with a couple of
large warships mo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ore</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d.
No wonder it was the epicentre of the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">B</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">attle
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of
Crete </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
1941; it </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
a very strategic </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arbo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r.
Even today much of the area is under military occupation with
restricted access, particularly the Peninsula of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">krotiri.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCY5m_YU0lSJMYILY1Yap6HIfOVe7jchaAuRlma8s-z4C4F74IOPL5xYAArFLvcmFeT1FaXYZQbaVfqgmJ_bQMIfj8WaAC2Ss0sE196jK_kAYtXTVo95z9186Blsav-I1nq1H5nJldears8QCSGhBq7s8ACT14Wn7PlTrRv3U16IcTpDQAQ/s1280/740-29-Souda-Bay.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1280" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCY5m_YU0lSJMYILY1Yap6HIfOVe7jchaAuRlma8s-z4C4F74IOPL5xYAArFLvcmFeT1FaXYZQbaVfqgmJ_bQMIfj8WaAC2Ss0sE196jK_kAYtXTVo95z9186Blsav-I1nq1H5nJldears8QCSGhBq7s8ACT14Wn7PlTrRv3U16IcTpDQAQ/s320/740-29-Souda-Bay.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Souda Bay</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>Then
home, a shower and a windy walk in full moonlight to the same </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>averna
as earlier in the week, accompanied on the way by Greek singing and
music floating down from a taverna hi</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>gher</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
in the hills. Supper of lamb and potatoes, with a salad and the
bottle of retsina</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
was a draughty affair on the windy </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>errace.
No candles on the tables this evening, even the tablecloth subjected
to being forced to lie flat. On our way home afterwards we even
wondered whether we should have taken </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>our</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
jackets with us. They </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>ve
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>lain</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
unused since we left Gatwick two weeks ago.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday
5 June continued. </b></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Last
night the wind ro</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ared</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and how</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">led
a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">round
ou</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
apartment. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
was quite </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">erocious,
screaming through the shutters. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
was</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
not cold though, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
sheet on the bed was all that was bearable. This morning the sun
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">awn</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed
a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
hot </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
ever. There </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wa</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
still a powerful breeze at 8 a.m., but now at 10 a.m. it </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
quite disappeared. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
fly home from </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">raklion
tonight. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>8:30
p.m. Heraklion Airport. </b></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Well,
here we are, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
luggage has been checked in and we </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ve
just had a very much needed coffee in the lounge overlooking the
airport runway and the sea with the island of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Dia</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
just off shore. I really hope the pilots always judge the runway with
total accuracy as there is no margin for error. Around me are crowds
of other British holidaymakers returning on the same flight. Some
ordinary couples or </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pleasant
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">families,
but others are bright red, sunburnt, overweight families </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">silly
moaning mothers and whinging fed up kids, all eating pizza and
crisps, drinking Coke - </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I’m</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
afraid I'm a travel snob. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">er</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ry
has just pulled out of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
Iraklion </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">port
and it </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
sailing past the aircraft waiting on the runway. Maybe the ship is on
its way to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Santorini,
or</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
more probably </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ath</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ens.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Giorgio
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">shook
us </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">by
the hand in a very genial manner when we left this morning. It was a
very pleasant place for us to stay, above the town, away from the
noise, cool and comfortable of an </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">vening,
with access to the swimming pool and end</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">less</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
showers to revive us after what has been even for </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Crete</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
particularly hot </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">un</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">seasonal
weather. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
headed towards </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rethymnon</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
along the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ew
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad,
turning off to indulge Ian's passion for exposed historic sites in
s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">corch</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing
bright sunshine. Actually the site of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Aptera
on</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ills
to one side of S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">uda
Bay turned out to be very interesting, having been occupied
continuously since Minoan </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">times</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Th</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ere
are</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
remains of the city walls from around 300 BC</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">E,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">seven</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">th
century monastery, abandoned but t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
stor</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ey</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
high with superb views over S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">uda
Bay, cool with a breeze blowing through the windows of the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">upper</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
floor, and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arrel
vaulted below, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
place to linger in the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at.
There is a huge deep Roman </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cistern</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and an early Byzantine building, the remains of a small Greek theatre
and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">church.
There is also the Turkish fortress of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">zz</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n,
dated around 1869, and finally a German gun emplacement of around
1942. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ll
a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re
intermixed, some constructed on top of earlier structures. There was
hardly anyone around and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
site</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was becoming overgrown now with wild flowers, mostly wi</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">there</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d,
but with poppies and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">m</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arguerite</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
blooming in cracks between the flagstones. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ep</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
tried to shelter from the heat beneath any scr</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ubby
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bush
or olive tree. It seem</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">surprising
that there are so few lizards. Later </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">though
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
had to stop the car twice on minor roads to wait while first a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Balkan</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
green lizard and then a snake crossed in front of us. There are, I
think, only two species of snake on Cre</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">te</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
We waded through the thistles and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">m</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">allow
plants to discover the remains of a Roman </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">illa,
being excavated by a single archaeologist. The walls </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re
in excellent condition and it </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wa</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
possible to see how they fitted the blocks together and how rods were
fitted to the centre of each column </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
tie it to t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
section above. They were massive </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">umble</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
columns in the centre of the villa </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the bases still in their original position surrounding the building. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyS7bwSi8wQzBNAhtACZtkxl1tRNtk9Y3ODjT7vD43_9aoPPnHjRM1_TaNv3GMthdzPob8Yp0EzBgX1FxYukmIGI6QMNWBFRM0ILmQWINqrYlwMa0J_g4MvUN-jdPpb3EJn6sNZVCiY76K-auZX55AlMQhkk0GLI6hpTbXsUVIkMbeUgxf5A/s1280/740-30-Aptera.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyS7bwSi8wQzBNAhtACZtkxl1tRNtk9Y3ODjT7vD43_9aoPPnHjRM1_TaNv3GMthdzPob8Yp0EzBgX1FxYukmIGI6QMNWBFRM0ILmQWINqrYlwMa0J_g4MvUN-jdPpb3EJn6sNZVCiY76K-auZX55AlMQhkk0GLI6hpTbXsUVIkMbeUgxf5A/s320/740-30-Aptera.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Aptera</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaECQDR0X56xV7VsA6oHn7IyNlJjrUUF0IjsdjrcW2ddoitbdehgjnSHGcAH3wNlZE-LLFf7AhfKwZ5nmnt7R6vXkq0tHlO5Hja5Rr7Eec7m85WGg8b0vVg9cQsFv3YQQwP9YO5u8CzveTVHe1r9PpWXxWmATduFBqarG8NP7Gh-9NpkyAWw/s1280/740-31-Aptera.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1280" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaECQDR0X56xV7VsA6oHn7IyNlJjrUUF0IjsdjrcW2ddoitbdehgjnSHGcAH3wNlZE-LLFf7AhfKwZ5nmnt7R6vXkq0tHlO5Hja5Rr7Eec7m85WGg8b0vVg9cQsFv3YQQwP9YO5u8CzveTVHe1r9PpWXxWmATduFBqarG8NP7Gh-9NpkyAWw/s320/740-31-Aptera.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Aptera</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCCOXNU3VGU7xmIxzUC1Uv9p1PnN-XWnd_V77M9PbZXllJe-j7TOCLqxzbcnOzX4xfU92cSpiwpk72imz1C7h0BOk-3OG1UR6z1zxnwWaTjySCXUU2h2SkvaxFixr7ASktyyigrY1yFKmoncCB3I80P2lPksGw8Cdp1CZXBsip2bw0L7VHA/s1280/740-32-Aptera.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCCOXNU3VGU7xmIxzUC1Uv9p1PnN-XWnd_V77M9PbZXllJe-j7TOCLqxzbcnOzX4xfU92cSpiwpk72imz1C7h0BOk-3OG1UR6z1zxnwWaTjySCXUU2h2SkvaxFixr7ASktyyigrY1yFKmoncCB3I80P2lPksGw8Cdp1CZXBsip2bw0L7VHA/s320/740-32-Aptera.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Aptera</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
could have spent all day there and the sea </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">reeze
made the temperature variable, but we had other places to visit on
our way. So we continue</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">al</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ong
minor roads to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Vamos,
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">visited
as much as anything so we could tease </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our
Hungarian friends Kati</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and Peter </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Vamos</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> [both, sadly, now no longer with us] when we got home. W</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
got</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
some pretty good ammunition </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
the first building w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
passed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was a hotel called </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">V</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">amos
Palace. The town of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Vamos</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is on a steep </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ill.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
is a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
curious place in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">that
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
local people have got together to form a co-operative to encourage
ecotourism. They are restoring the old </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">illage
to be typically </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Cretan</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and have little houses for rent. They have a traditional grocery shop
selling local produce which is made or cooked or prepared by the
women of the town, textiles, honey yoghurt, herbs and so on. There is
a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">delight</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ful
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">taverna</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in the centre, part of the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o-operative,
where was sat on the vine covered </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">errace
and lunch</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on a salad of mixed pulses, delicious, served </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cold
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
different oils and herbs including </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
sort of pease pudding and various haricot </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">butter
beans. The menu was </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">transl</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ated
into rather curious English. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
opted for a sort of t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aglaitelli</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
served with “cock”, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we
hoped meant chicken, but </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">were
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
little apprehensive as the menu choice below was for a lamb dish
claiming it was made from liver, spleen and intestines of a lamb.
Fortunately when is arrived we were relieved to find it was most
definitely chicken, w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ther
cock or hen was immaterial to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">us</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
so long as it was n</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
an anatomical appendage of a lamb or goat. We had a jug of water and
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian
indulged</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in a half </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">liter
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of
retsina all to himself as I was driving. We were given a gift of a
bottle of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">raki</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and a dish of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">loukoumi</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
or Turkish delight, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">erhaps
the only happily accepted </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">egacy
of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Turkish
occupation of Greece. R</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aki</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is not called fire water for nothing. Innocent as it looks, it has a
powerful kick. I tasted a tiny sip to be polite but I still ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a good 100 km to drive. Ian is more courteous which, combined with
the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">retsina,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
meant he was slightly less of an able navigator tha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
he had</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
been for the rest of the holiday. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqz3M_HYkAvAOUummj0eiMLlL4y-YJL893UTQKfNlNfPkLxXiHm-UMYf9Oo4Gu635DQnqa9Ue15KKCT4sV5P1wYWkkpU7zrr4_aPJNOCkDKH6jiwmr2e0DoeCX8MBJrOXin6NVv4EJxVK17EnChIIBVR75PHAtMrYqqAB1MbNKa_88Dl3UaQ/s1280/740-33-Vamos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqz3M_HYkAvAOUummj0eiMLlL4y-YJL893UTQKfNlNfPkLxXiHm-UMYf9Oo4Gu635DQnqa9Ue15KKCT4sV5P1wYWkkpU7zrr4_aPJNOCkDKH6jiwmr2e0DoeCX8MBJrOXin6NVv4EJxVK17EnChIIBVR75PHAtMrYqqAB1MbNKa_88Dl3UaQ/s320/740-33-Vamos.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Vamos</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtizC3z9TzCitrzgC9AygqM9B26AxCI4GVKM_AOSxBPh40oIxum4qXG0-mlIhWITYgFAH43_OC--F3GGjdSpUCaquHaaBjPWxxcwBJGPxhdM4jgSdU1GPysMq6bli7hgFRSXnZpMiKpnZOBfe5aaljRibGajurTobG-cbkACbRGOXQiWfkaA/s1280/740-34-Vamos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtizC3z9TzCitrzgC9AygqM9B26AxCI4GVKM_AOSxBPh40oIxum4qXG0-mlIhWITYgFAH43_OC--F3GGjdSpUCaquHaaBjPWxxcwBJGPxhdM4jgSdU1GPysMq6bli7hgFRSXnZpMiKpnZOBfe5aaljRibGajurTobG-cbkACbRGOXQiWfkaA/s320/740-34-Vamos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Vamos Palace</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
are now on the plane on our way to Gatwick, hence the indecipherable
scr</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aw</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">F</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rom
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">V</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">amos
we made our way to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Geo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">giopo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lou,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
curious to see the little town selected by the author of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Winds
of Crete, </span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">David
MacNeil Doren as his ideal location, living in a Cretan peasant
community, perfectly located twixt sea and mountains</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">F</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rom
his account it seems a veritable utopia. However he was there back in
the 1970s. I doubt if he'd recognise the place today. It</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
setting is as described, on the estuary of a pretty substantial green
river </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ith
boats moored </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">amid
the</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
reeds. It is however Little Germany By The Sea. Everybody spoke
German in the shops and it was on all the signs. No doubt there were
English visitors to</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
but not obviously so. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
is a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">entral
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">quare
from where little </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oads
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ead
out in all directions to recently constructed apartment blocks and
rented rooms. The square itself is lined with tavernas and gift shop</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with people sitting </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">enjo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ying
cold drinks in the sunshine. We walk</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
down to the beach, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
narrow strip of boring sand, no </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">secluded
coves, rocky pools</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
or anything remotely interesting. The sea itself was still choppy and
it didn't really look inviting except to a large German lady wearing
nothing but equally large </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">white</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
knickers wading out for some topless bathing, pu</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ll</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing
on her swimming hat to keep her hair dry. W</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
crossed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to look at the church, in the process of res</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ration
and locked. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">From</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
behind the ap</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">se</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
it should have been possible to have pleasant views of the sea, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">but</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
unregulated planning meant half constructed apartment block</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
covered in graffiti </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">stood</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
just feet from the church and in the weed-</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ridd</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">en
patch next to it stood fo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
concrete columns about </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">six
feet</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
high with </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">usty
metal rods protruding, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bviously
a development project that ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
failed through lack of money and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">was
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">just
left abandoned. We saw no real evidence of local people or their
homes. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Out</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of season the resort must be closed up, lifeless and empty, devoid of
any of the character i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
once</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
had. One day the bottom </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">could</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
drop out of Crete </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
a holiday resort, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the island w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ould</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
be left with a mass of empty buildings which it w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ould</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">not
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">be
able to maintain and which w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ould</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
ruin the beauty of its coastline. You ca</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nnot</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
blame </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">entrepreneurs</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
for opting to benefit from tourism, what else </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
it to sell? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
fault lies surely</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with the administration which </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">allows</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
such unregulated development; </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">m</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aybe
penalty </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">clause</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
if not completed within a certain time would help. Anyway I suppose
we have contributed to the d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">espoli</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ation
by coming and using the facilities we </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">condemn</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
I would have preferred to avoid the tourist areas and stay in the
little towns and villages in the hills, but up there are language
would have been </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">difficult</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
for us. It is really only in the tourist resorts that you find either
the linguists or the speculative development. Outside of those areas
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Crete
is</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
still largely unchanged. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Now
though, the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hepherd
drives his battered truck up to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">live
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rove
w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">here
he had</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
left his sheep or goat</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
loads them in a few time, and drive</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
them down again for milking. We saw many vehicles on the twisting
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with half a dozen shee</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
squashed in the back</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Or they may have been left outside the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">kafeinion</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
whil</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hepherd
joins his comrades on the terrace for a chat. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Cretan
men are v</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ery
sociable people and enjoy each other's company. We r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arely
saw</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
groups of women together except outside their doors, never at the
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">kafeinion,
which is</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
still a male domain. Disappointed but not surprised at the
development of Georgi</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">opolou,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
we continued on our way, joining up with the main road as it was gone
5 p.m. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd
we still ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to get </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
Iraklion</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and sort out leaving the car as per the instructions of the car hire
company in a particular car park but </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
keys locked in the boot.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">have
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">already
said much about drivers in Crete. Suffice it to say that, once they
get a fast straight road, the only one in Crete being along the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">orth
coast, they become creatures possessed. I </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ve
never seen such a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ppal</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing
drivers. Road markings, traffic signs, rock</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
stumbled on</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the hard shoulder all are totally ignored. A female driver in </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
little Fiat Cinquecento which is a hire car anyway has no right to be
anywhere but the hard shoulder </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which
serves </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
the pull over la</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
allow vehicles to overtake</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">his
road is not </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">dual
carriageway and idiots are doing exactly the same in the other
direction. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
hard shoulder</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
also a really good place for dozens of p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">easa</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nts
to set up little stalls selling bags of tomatoes </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
oranges from their villages up in the hills. Black </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">robe</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rown-</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">skinned</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
old women flag you down, trying to introduce you to buy their
produce, standing there oblivious to the dangers. Or two drivers will
pull in to discuss some matter, leaving </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">their</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
car door</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wide open j</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tting
into the main carriageway. Or scooters will pop along </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
about 30 k</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ph</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
whereas most traffic is travelling </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
about 130, and of course there are always the tumble</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rocks
from</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the newly </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cut
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cliff
face. Road</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
like that, let alone drivers, would never be permitted in England,
thank God. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[Written
before the introduction of smart motorways!] We followed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the direction sign off the road for the airport, then it abandoned
us, no further signs anywhere. Fortunately </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
worked it out correctly, but it was not pleasant driving through
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">raklion
with its traffic lights, ignored m</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">any</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
drivers anyway, trying to find it airport without being carved up by
Greek</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">who</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
don't understand the concept of courteous driving, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">how</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ever
courteous and charming they are to your face. With relief w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
reach</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the airport and found a parking area, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">but</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the barrier refused to lift </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
let u</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
in. While we wonder</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
what the hell to do now, we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re
approached by a smiling young man who </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">greeted
us</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in English, “I am from your car hire company and I am here to
collect the car.” </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">said
we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">would</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
be returning at around 8 p.m. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd
it was only 7 p.m. W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
assumed he had</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
delivered a car off and waited for us to arrive. He then drove us to
the airport entrance and waited for us to unload before disappearing
with the car all the way back to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">M</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arina.
He told us that they </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
noticed us</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
driving around </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">M</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arina
several times during the last week. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8peQ3yu9Jyzpqy6r2C_XJkoy2W3jp6D5PBSZvJXJ8A-CQ31fig-5ZklI0Nm5n-1Dqa3p5QfMaoMjOJO7Ec1_yfubO56dWfbV0YkC5K-nVDuguy84T6gYHK98fpU9HhzCAwbL-iXB5fyZEh9XVLgE_MGW_cVW4n9q7sRpab3zCRdX9TDkGw/s1280/740-35-Irakleion.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1280" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8peQ3yu9Jyzpqy6r2C_XJkoy2W3jp6D5PBSZvJXJ8A-CQ31fig-5ZklI0Nm5n-1Dqa3p5QfMaoMjOJO7Ec1_yfubO56dWfbV0YkC5K-nVDuguy84T6gYHK98fpU9HhzCAwbL-iXB5fyZEh9XVLgE_MGW_cVW4n9q7sRpab3zCRdX9TDkGw/s320/740-35-Irakleion.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Ready to board</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
so we say goodbye to Crete. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
seem to have done a great deal in two weeks despite the temperatures
which have done much to spoil it and limit our activities. I think we
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">have
graduall</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
built </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
feel</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of the island </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
its</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
people. We </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ve
seen and done many things that most package travellers don't even
dream of doing during our two week, 1,700 km stay in Crete.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
pilot has just announced that the temperature at Gatwick is 13
degrees just about 20 degrees l</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ess
than</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the we've been "enjoying" this afternoon. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[Having just finished editing this blog, and having recovered my own forgotten memory of our detour to Vamos, I am dedicating this posting to the memory of our dear friends Peter and Kati. Ian, 26 February 2023.]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<br />
<br />
</p>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-74345905622929630402023-02-26T15:13:00.004+00:002023-02-26T15:13:58.607+00:00Crete 2001. Linear C<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><b>Tuesday
29 May 2001, </b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><b>Agia</b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><b>
Marina.</b></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today
we moved along to the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">estern
end of Cre</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">te</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
It really is a surprisingly </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">far,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
more than 120 miles between </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hersoni</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ssos
and Chania. Needless to say, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">obody
from the tour company have bothered to give any directions as to how
to find </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
hotel here, or even a name or contact phone number. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
set off, reasonably confident w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
would</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
find it eventually. We took the fast road as far as Iraklion and then
turned off to take the twisty mountain road through the little
villages to Rethymnon.</span></span></span></span></span> </span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
thought </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
road</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
would be deserted, but it turned out </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">that
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">there
was a quarry somewhere and a cement works, so the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arrow,
twisting, climbing ro</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ads
wer</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
subject to heavy lorries thundering along. It was very reminiscent of
Corsica and the coaches, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">though
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">they
moved more slowly. Here, the sheer drop was to the valley floor far
below with its olive </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">roves,
rather than the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ea.
Actually it wasn't as bad </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
Corsica, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">except
w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hen</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a lorry forc</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
you off the road so that it could get by. The </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">views
were</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wonderful. It took ages to reach </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">R</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ethymno</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on this </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">route</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
but well worth it, and we were not in a hurry. Arid mountain</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sides
loomed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
above and around </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">us</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
but </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">there
was a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
fertile </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">alley
below. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
stopped for lunch at a little village called </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Dr</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">osa.
Indeed the whole village was nothing but eight or nine tavernas, all
set for lunch with lambs and pigs being spit roasted over open fires
on the street in front of the tavern</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
We had fresh squeezed orange juice, a bottle of ice</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
water and two lots of lamb with chips. The lamb came as huge roasted
chunks, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ather
salty and over cooked but it had to be tried once. Later as we left
the village we saw their skins h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ng
out on wire fences to dry. From what I've read </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hepherds
make them into coats for the winter time when out with their sheep on
the mountainside. I would have thought it hardly likely to end</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ear</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hepherd
to his flock </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">when
they saw him approach with the fleece of their relatives adorning his
shoulders</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
When we paid our bill the waiter gave us a plate </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
plums and told us to go back to the shady </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">errace
and enjoy them before we left. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
we did so, several coaches arrived </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">full
of</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
school kids </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aged</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
about seven or eight and their teachers. They poured into the various
restaurants and the place was immediately alive with excitement. Why
they were there we never discovered, in the middle of nowhere, just a
little old village with chickens in the road, lined with peach trees,
and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ordinary
village </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">olk
sitting in the shade outside the coffee house watching the few
vehicles that pass through. It was obviously something special today.
Little stores ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
been set up selling jars of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oney,
ceramic oil lamps, and water whistles, little ceramic pots </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
fill </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
water and blow down the handle so that the pot sings </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ike
a </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ird.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As
we return</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to the car I saw another </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ch</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ameleon
shoot across the hot </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">armac
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad
and disappear into the bushes. The sun burned relentlessly down, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
reckon is hotter than some places in North Africa. It burnt my arm on
the driving wheel so </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">that
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">it
really hurt, despite high factor sun shield. Eventually, feeling hot
and sticky, we reached </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">R</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ethymnon
and parked in the shade of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
palm tree. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
walked down to the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lue
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ea,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
be met by the slightest of breezes. We passed along the base of the
beautiful Venetian</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
fortification</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">their
turre</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ts
and watchtowers. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
pity, but </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">it
was </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">far
too hot to climb up to investigate more closely. At the harbour we
crawled from one's </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">patch
of shade t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o
the next. A wa</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">de</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
into the sea c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ooled
us off </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">for
a while. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Fish
just swam</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
around </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ou</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
ankles, ignoring us </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">completely</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Then </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we
wandered along past the w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aterfront
restaurants and coffee lounges all under c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oo</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l
canopies. Once we turned into the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arrow
streets of the town, we realised what a remarkably lovely and
interesting town </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rethymno</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
is. There is a very strong Turkish influence in the town </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
its</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
architectural style and even the Arabic script that can be seen
inscribed </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
various pieces of stonework. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kvOX1nQkKXIS4_cTuMqMsls5FJ8EVmae_PCKrd--8AdSsYcOfIEC9ppgXC_DKr0geU2NC3VkqpdJITZn2b_dEZWtPs5yegKq1q6R_0Ao3zaU2HiHRdKc9vySM7M9Y0VS5lQVQR_7b9lijMThSwLW3S0O-ku1QDsPw_5uyu8yQ0cPpf9bpQ/s1280/730-15-Rethymnon.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kvOX1nQkKXIS4_cTuMqMsls5FJ8EVmae_PCKrd--8AdSsYcOfIEC9ppgXC_DKr0geU2NC3VkqpdJITZn2b_dEZWtPs5yegKq1q6R_0Ao3zaU2HiHRdKc9vySM7M9Y0VS5lQVQR_7b9lijMThSwLW3S0O-ku1QDsPw_5uyu8yQ0cPpf9bpQ/s320/730-15-Rethymnon.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i>Rethymnon, Turkish inscription</i></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">From the dark little shops </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">came
t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ound
of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">m</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">usic
which seemed </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
owe</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
more to Arab roots than to Hellenic ones. We explored </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">treet
after </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">treet
of little shops or private residences, cool against the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">un,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ig
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tone
buildings </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">huddled</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
close together, opening here and there to form little shaded squares
with seats beneath c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oo</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l
palm trees and even fountains playing. It is astonishing the
difference even the sound of splashing water can make.</span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfu5OxQD0hvF2POaibpRKJiO5gnusaLJnvgZLNekkagGW1-HZcnYUGlfYf3X2c74FcgD4rljwQJiJyePU8-V_Bf4fw-xKPsninKSH_2F6uhMFT2iYiQAREhp8Fl7dPR633UjjFVp40uxH3i_ncGUwcuTAPMuGAlh2TnODVBmF219T77aKMA/s1280/730-13-Rethymnon.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfu5OxQD0hvF2POaibpRKJiO5gnusaLJnvgZLNekkagGW1-HZcnYUGlfYf3X2c74FcgD4rljwQJiJyePU8-V_Bf4fw-xKPsninKSH_2F6uhMFT2iYiQAREhp8Fl7dPR633UjjFVp40uxH3i_ncGUwcuTAPMuGAlh2TnODVBmF219T77aKMA/s320/730-13-Rethymnon.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i>Rethymnon</i></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyHQXnr9pj66I4kYTKFDEnhi6T-pzEkGwDNFO-X2iNNRKDkDIS36p4XI443MgCFvsYvBOrTUwv_UQVk3VZtvg21l9mIPqSp6w0G9qN9CSRd_wPW0RUFggDHbHxAXjwwIuM2Mut5E0Hk4RLX0HhyPjMB6aN5ujyn_VJMvnqgxQvVfSy63IGA/s1280/730-14-Rethymnon.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyHQXnr9pj66I4kYTKFDEnhi6T-pzEkGwDNFO-X2iNNRKDkDIS36p4XI443MgCFvsYvBOrTUwv_UQVk3VZtvg21l9mIPqSp6w0G9qN9CSRd_wPW0RUFggDHbHxAXjwwIuM2Mut5E0Hk4RLX0HhyPjMB6aN5ujyn_VJMvnqgxQvVfSy63IGA/s320/730-14-Rethymnon.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rethymnon</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwaTTz30Jw3oI0ZzccNHermeChkGiIQq4e16hOGEtjxjnxkJJ3HrikG3oq4T3OPEsDncUgm2uVh_HphCXvWY9Q4-36sRu7hpp9KYIrcmDRMfOCPg7lSJ3RRJm_AsQluEaOnTLsSNLvZjEckr-xTvsVacdihZVJxNUZpGiVEkKy9lEBU-zHA/s1280/730-16-Rethymnon.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwaTTz30Jw3oI0ZzccNHermeChkGiIQq4e16hOGEtjxjnxkJJ3HrikG3oq4T3OPEsDncUgm2uVh_HphCXvWY9Q4-36sRu7hpp9KYIrcmDRMfOCPg7lSJ3RRJm_AsQluEaOnTLsSNLvZjEckr-xTvsVacdihZVJxNUZpGiVEkKy9lEBU-zHA/s320/730-16-Rethymnon.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rethymnon</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Everywhere
in these little alleys were flowering shrubs, vines and creepers
giving colour and shade. Here and there we come across a Catholic
church or a mosque. Priest</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
passed </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">by
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ir</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
long black button</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
tunics, stretch</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
tight over rounded bellies, wearing black fe</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">z</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
type hats with big black or white bushy be</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ard</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
We could n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
look inside any of the churches because I was wearing shorts and they
are not allowed, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">although</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">skirt
of the same length would </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">be</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
We sat on a shaded terrace near a tall minaret on the edge of the
city walls, eating </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ices
and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
watching people pottering around the shops. I then bought a dolphin
rug for the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bathroom</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
at home and we reluctantly decided we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">be</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tter</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
continue our journey as it was another 60 km to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
destination and it was nearly </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">6
p.m.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Between R</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ethymno</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
and Chania the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">andscape
changes. Distant mountains still have patches of snow on their peaks
and the countryside is much greener with a variety of different trees
adding beauty to the landscape, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ycamore,
oak and other varieties. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Vines
and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
olive</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
continue but no longer dominate. We actually passed a small
artificial lake with water in and a tiny stream </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">trickling
along –</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">first
flowing </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">water</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in Cre</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">te,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
hardly </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">m</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ore
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">han
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
trickle, but we got really excited. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">F</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lowering
shrubs </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lined</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the roadside the entire length of the ro</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ute,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
pinks, yellow and whites </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">providing
a fore</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ground
for the green slopes of the mountains </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which
rose</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
taller and taller into the distance until they merge</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
into </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
vague b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lue
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aze.
R</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ly
have we actually seen the mountains clearly delineated against the
sky. The road turn</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
along by the coast, offering us wonderful </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">vistas</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of sea and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ills.
This end of the island is infinitely prettier than the other, to my
taste at least. We missed ou</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
turn off and ended up driving back along the old coast road to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ag</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ia
Marina where we passed right by the car hire place that we had loaned
our car from. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
had a hell of a way to drive to deliver her </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
us</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXK2aCNMyvoTpmZGjNgtsDkXEDh61k2a8VoUs4AlUz_NHcxwD69qK0fTJkSAl9Q7f_ip-Qd4QcvM9FwL6ndfAfptSAsHIIOB3_CyiFrYh09WNHYRwe0uSjAveQpd1kCPG-gzlJau-dgKyHvsqVTzX5641OMucsOBWzCIYOPb6sJlmTjGS4WA/s1280/730-22-Agia-Marina.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXK2aCNMyvoTpmZGjNgtsDkXEDh61k2a8VoUs4AlUz_NHcxwD69qK0fTJkSAl9Q7f_ip-Qd4QcvM9FwL6ndfAfptSAsHIIOB3_CyiFrYh09WNHYRwe0uSjAveQpd1kCPG-gzlJau-dgKyHvsqVTzX5641OMucsOBWzCIYOPb6sJlmTjGS4WA/s320/730-22-Agia-Marina.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Agia Marina</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
coast r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad
here looks awful, just an endless </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">row</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of seaside tourist shops selling sun cream, beach hats, inflatable
pillows etc. - </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">all</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the usual paraphernalia </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">writ</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
large. Red holidaymakers in skimpy tops and shorts, the men usually
with corpulent tummies overhang</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
their </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hor</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s,
looking very red and painful </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wandered</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
back and forth across the road in front of us. Locals on motorbikes
and scooters w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ove</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in and out </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">amongst</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
them and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tourists
parked </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">jeeps
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">just
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">anywhere,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o
driving was hazardous and slow. We had no directions, and searching
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">proved</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
quite futile, the hillside above the road is full of little full of
little </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lanes</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
lined with white flower-fronted hotel</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
look</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
exactly like the picture of ours. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
scoured every likely </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">place
without success. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">However
w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
made lots of friends </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">amongst
the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
local, very helpful people, speaking and reading excellent English.
They all ask</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
their friends in cafes, tavernas, supermarkets, or just sitting
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">outside
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
the sha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e.
Nobody recognised it, everyone was worried for us and wanted to be
the one to sort out </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">problem.
Eventually a lady in another hotel sen</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Ian to a waiter in a </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">avern</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
who lived and worked here for years. He knew immediately, and a few
minutes later we drove up a dirt track on the very edge of the town
and we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ar</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rived.
We </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">would
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">never
have found it on on our own.</span></span></span></span></span> </span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Giorgio
was suffering from the heat but was friendly and helpful. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
knew</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
absolutely nothing about us coming. The holiday company </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">G</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">olden.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">S</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">un
ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
failed to inform him. He rang their </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">local
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">representative.
They </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
also </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">failed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to inform her. As we suspected, tour operators have no flexibility
for the independent traveller and cannot comprehend anything that
doesn't fit their usual programme. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">How
had w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
arrived before the plane landed anyway? </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f
we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ar</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rived
at </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">raklion,
why were we up this end of the island? Eventually Giorgio was happy,
and showed us to an upstairs </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tudio
with two patios, one overlooking the sea with an island offshore, the
other with a superb view of a range of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rey
crumpled mountains. We are on the very edge of the area so there is
nothing much beyond this but f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ield</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
of drying grass, a few wild flowers, Georgio’s olive trees and
green woodland, probably olives, further off nearer the mountain
range. From the side we can see down onto the rest of the town of
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Agi</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
Marina and its hotels. It </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
very hot in the studio, which is equipped with the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are
minimum; </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
were spoilt at Alma Studios. There is endless hot water here though
which, paradoxically, is good despite the hot weather. We found a
little supermarket </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
short walk away and stocked up o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wine, water and salad stuff. The</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
back to the c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oo</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l
of our balcony for supper in semi-darkness with the moon shining from
a clear </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">elvet
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ky
and little stars twinkling. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
seem to be less insects</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
bother us here. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday
30 May 2001.</b></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
slept wonderfully, with the door wide open allowing a cool </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">reeze.
Fortunately there were no gnats and mosquitoes to add itchy patches
to our already badly affected limbs. I'm writing on the balcony which
in a few minutes will be subject to the searing heat </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
another day. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lready
the sun is turning the corner of the building and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">has</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
reached </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">further
end of the balcony. Where can we sh</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">elter</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
today? There </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
no pleasure in it at all. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
have a packet of Petit Beurre b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">iscuits
in front of me </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">written
in Greek script as </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><strong><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Πτι-Μπερ,</b></span></span></span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #d2232a;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>
</b></span></span></span></span></span></strong><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which
we are delighted to to realise is a direct </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pho</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">netic
translation. I </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">would
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">love
to be able to just read the upper and lowercase script without having
to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sit
puzzl</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing
over it first but we </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wi</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ll
have gone home before we achieve anything. Reading road signs can be
a problem, and sometimes </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
have to stop </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">puzzle
them out.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><a name="tw-target-text"></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
is not the custom in Greece to put any paper down down the toilet so
everywhere there a little plastic </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">boxe</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
with lids into which </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">you
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">place
used </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">loo</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
paper. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Some
poor souls then earn their living</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
removing it all. How they must love us tourists! </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
is</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the same everywhere; the pumping system isn't designed to cope with
it. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
every loo is a notice saying </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="el-GR"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">μην
πετάτε χαρτί στην τουαλέτα, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
which means Don’t throw paper in the toilet. Musing, as one does on
the loo </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="el-GR"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">χαρτί</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is phonetically charter so although the English for paper comes from
the Latin papyrus, we get the word for a charter or chart from the
Greek. Interesting, unless you are clever and understand Greek
already, like everyone here who can equally well understand our
language. I do </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sometimes
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">feel
ignorant! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday
31 May 2001 </b></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Yesterday
was so unbearably hot and bright that we both felt quite ill. There
is no pleasure for us in a holiday like this; if hell is half as hot
I'm going to reform at once! Actually, going to a monastery
definitely has its attractions, as we discovered yesterday when we
entered the Monastery of Moni Odigitrias on the Rodopou Peninsula.
Inside the white-washed walls was a cool shady courtyard filled with
green palm trees and bright flowering shrubs. From it led doorways to
dark inviting rooms, mainly the monks quarters. An archway led to a
stone balcony overlooking the sea. In the wall was lodged a
cannonball, evidence of the struggles of christendom against the
Turks in the past. The chapel is a cool dark oasis of peace,
furnished with typical Greek icons and beautiful screens and chairs
carved in olive wood. Unfortunately for us the monastery closed its
doors from the public from 12:30 until 4 p. m., the hottest and worst
time of the day. There are virtually no shadows so everywhere is
shadeless, unless under the canopy of a tavern or coffee house. It is
too hot for coffee anyway. We were politely ushered from the
Monastery by a young priest in his black cassock, his long black hair
tied back in a ponytail and his long black beard free-flowing. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZefN4Wnnv0Gw_qiO9fMSc-CWvPTlQsTlA-Dsp8w5aOKCq-vG7DBLzlBttAwMOjiP_D1k73-bIjL754mg8yHK-tS4sklr3PsM29Qk_-hdJCKYLF9OLOihpxbRjnVfSz1XejiKK9XBof6oO-m46D1pvO8O0PQDvfOHvFsk3TBDiojijo7R6Q/s1280/730-17-Moni-Odigitrias.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZefN4Wnnv0Gw_qiO9fMSc-CWvPTlQsTlA-Dsp8w5aOKCq-vG7DBLzlBttAwMOjiP_D1k73-bIjL754mg8yHK-tS4sklr3PsM29Qk_-hdJCKYLF9OLOihpxbRjnVfSz1XejiKK9XBof6oO-m46D1pvO8O0PQDvfOHvFsk3TBDiojijo7R6Q/s320/730-17-Moni-Odigitrias.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Moni Odigitrias</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We had
earlier visited the little village of Kolimbari at the foot of the
peninsula, a little fishing village with a stony beach hardly touched
by tourism. A great deal of harbour development is taking place, so
heavy lorries loaded with cement or quarried stone were thundering up
and down the narrow twisting coastal road out onto the Peninsula. In
the village we had discovered along at little road lined with little
houses, each covered with its own shady vine, a tiny white-washed
chapel with its little Belfry over the door and bell rope dangling.
At the further end the apse with its red tiled roof bulged as an
attachment to the body of the church. It really was tiny and we
peeped in at the door. It was cold and dark with a heavy smell of
incense. Even here there were lovely icons and the rich altar was
adorned with gleaming candle holders and accoutrements of the mass.
Outside tjhere were fig trees and vines. We drove out along the
peninsula at first through an avenue of Tamarisk trees. Beyond the
monastery though the route was bare and exposed following the
coastline. We stopped at a little beach with a few small pine trees
almost at the sea’s edge. Despite the sun it was colder here,
especially when we waded out onto some rocks and stood with fishes
swimming around our legs. Then we continued, following the narrow
coast road and up into the hills with goats scrambling up the bare
rock face by the roadside. Eventually we arrived at Afrata from where
a number of dirt tracks led out to the further reaches of the
peninsula, but here the metalled roads seemed to end. Not many
tourists make it out this far. It looked a pleasant place, full of
flowering shrubs and potted geraniums. We descended the road towards
a little Bay. Our Rough guide had mentioned a little taverna that
sounded appealing. Sure enough we found a tiny unprepossessing little
white building above the road with an olive tree outside and two
white haired, white mustachioed elderly Greeks chatting contentedly
in the shade. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Roxanne’s is run by a charming Greek lady of the same
name, also quite elderly but with jet black hair and a happy smile.
One of the white haired gentlemen turned out to be her husband. We
had a great time there. There were no other visitors and they seemed
to speak even less English than we do Greek. They welcomed us in and
attended to our first request for “cold water, please”. After
that our Greek vocabulary was exhausted so we were taken into the
building, the fridge was opened, and we were shown a big bowl of
little Mediterranean fishes each three inches long. We were offered
these with a Greek salad and bread. Roxanne went off to cook them and
Alexis showed us to a shady terrace overlooking the sea and sat with
us while we drank the ice cold water. Considering that we couldn't
understand a word any of us said, we had a lovely, interesting and
informative meal. He told us that quite a few English people had
bought properties locally and that he was friends with one English
family and had taught them Greek. By the time we left he was well on
the way to teaching it to us as well. He also told us there was a
beach nearby with no tourist facilities where people went to bathe
naked, and he went to watch. He continued to chat and explain to ask
the best way to eat the little fishes, which arrived cooked whole,
crisp and delicious. Then Roxanne gave us a dish of apricots and
Alexis seemed pleased to eat one with us and continue chatting. Then
Roxanne also joined us and they showed us a dog-eared book in English
written by his English friend. It was about this part of Greece, and
had a whole chapter devoted to this very same charming elderly
couple. There were even photos. Alexis proudly pointed out “me with
my mule”, “me with my vines. I own lots of trees here, olives,
figs, apricots also fruit and tomatoes, potatoes, onions”. Either
that, or we misunderstood but I don't think so. Then they took us
back inside to show us some house martins that had nested in the
rafters of the room. The parents were flying in and out the front
door searching for food, so presumably they can never shut up the
property. The total bill for all this was about £6. Alexis was
delighted when we asked to take his photo and posed proudly in front
of his restaurant, but Roxanne had disappeared. From the account he
gave his friend, which was reproduced in the book, he comes from a
colourful background. He has lived all his life in little village of
Afrata but his grandfather stole a gun and killed a Turk who had been
seducing all the girls in the village during the time of the Turkish
occupation towards the end of the 19th century. His grandfather was
immediately outlawed and sentenced to death, but was supported in
secret on the hillside and in caves by friends. The whole family was
obliged to live this way for thirty years. His grandfather became a
local hero, and this is reflected in the family name today; the
family are called after the grandfather. Then when Alexis was small
(this he explained to us himself in Greek) the island was occupied by
the Germans and he had no school, no education, nothing (tipotis) but
it didn't matter. Quite an experience for us, thanks to our Rough
Guide. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RDtvj-NQKDRXVWB2YHFNBtoWOCcFZ75hoz_qC11yQcOeJbGw4XKkGWm6rL8AdWythEWmh0fcFT5SMrJPx0-VCMcK10gEH6G2XYb3UwyzlztoAWUUGkp8dKzE6TCDucHV24dzzuqvx5RXqpMQNlpfkQUTchDo2ZOUn-jASBCDae4qn7lAPw/s1280/730-19-Afrata.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="859" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RDtvj-NQKDRXVWB2YHFNBtoWOCcFZ75hoz_qC11yQcOeJbGw4XKkGWm6rL8AdWythEWmh0fcFT5SMrJPx0-VCMcK10gEH6G2XYb3UwyzlztoAWUUGkp8dKzE6TCDucHV24dzzuqvx5RXqpMQNlpfkQUTchDo2ZOUn-jASBCDae4qn7lAPw/w174-h259/730-19-Afrata.JPG" width="174" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTslnxbzD2kKQtCNnLIoGXKZa_c39rdCb-5NaKjhzZnnojVBdmHHzNyIzbbDr-X3gKdhmZhTGMzYrxAHOUOy-ZnTbj6vcXqqgrtAO4f6Mt52som0su-2Wo53msz-YphvjeeJz7sfSJka2vO0Mz42osqjr_fP2z8FO_MX7AuNYr1RJlauXtoA/s1280/730-20-Afrata.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="890" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTslnxbzD2kKQtCNnLIoGXKZa_c39rdCb-5NaKjhzZnnojVBdmHHzNyIzbbDr-X3gKdhmZhTGMzYrxAHOUOy-ZnTbj6vcXqqgrtAO4f6Mt52som0su-2Wo53msz-YphvjeeJz7sfSJka2vO0Mz42osqjr_fP2z8FO_MX7AuNYr1RJlauXtoA/w181-h260/730-20-Afrata.JPG" width="181" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Alexis (Mr Roxanne)</i></span></div><p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
then continued our journey westward to Kissimou, a not very inspiring
little town. The weather had exhausted us, and we stopped in the
first side street we could find with any shade and promptly fell
asleep for an hour, waking with a headache and swollen watery eyes
from too much sun glare. We felt awful, hot and sticky. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
drove, the only way to get a breeze, up to Platanous, the end of the
main road westward. It was a pleasant little place with tiny
unmetalled roads leading out to even more remote hamlets in the
hills. We bought some bread from a local baker who was watching Sky
TV in English but seemed unable to use the language with us. Buy now
we can say “bread, please” and point anyway. We returned towards
home along the old road, where there was a surprising amount of
greenery, flowers and shrubs, along the roadsides. The road passed
through a number of attractive villages. We stopped by an olive grove
and made a walk along a dirt track in search of a Minoan settlement
signposted from the road. There was not a great deal to see when we
arrived, but the groves themselves were neatly tended, each tree with
its own water supply. There must have been a fortune made for someone
in Crete with the amount of rubber piping to be found snaking around
the entire island. </span></span></span></p><p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIV8-XPXMvOgJoREOui5S7NE1tX3O0aTi1G0xIXhEWJlT9ZU_UrPLe3Z7XJTen2G0thy1c3oFOXb87NCZ3j-kI6pAI2d82WS9SFHikWP6xbpzyiZfIadkX5RHBMN0szCcBhsYxZR_kWPtHGW3RmxtMkxkeIucHbHqYhfnmfSE16rIvON85Ig/s1280/720-24-Water-supply.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIV8-XPXMvOgJoREOui5S7NE1tX3O0aTi1G0xIXhEWJlT9ZU_UrPLe3Z7XJTen2G0thy1c3oFOXb87NCZ3j-kI6pAI2d82WS9SFHikWP6xbpzyiZfIadkX5RHBMN0szCcBhsYxZR_kWPtHGW3RmxtMkxkeIucHbHqYhfnmfSE16rIvON85Ig/s320/720-24-Water-supply.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Water supply for agriculture in Crete</i></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then we turned off up to Rodopos, which is a
delightful white-washed village with a substantial square lined with
fruiting mulberry trees. Flowers, vines and well tended vegetable
plots line the main street and cobbled paths lead off to surrounding
properties. There is a stone well in the centre but I don't think it
is still used. Cafes and coffee places suround the square, but seem
to be meeting places for locals rather than for tourists. We went
into one, it was cool and dark. The elderly owner looked up from his
television soap drama and asked our nationality. We said “Aangliki”.
“Hello”, he replied, and signalled us to sit and wait until his
program had finished; it was obviously a moment of high drama that we
had interrupted. Then he let us choose our ice creams and counted the
change out with Ian repeating the numbers after him, then we were
allowed to go. Sheer bliss, sitting in the shade of a mulberry tree
on the square, squashed dark fruit beneath our feet, eating ice
cream!</div></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then
we rejoined the old road and through Maleme on the coast road where the
tourist Mecca begins. As we drove along the endless parade of beach
shops, supermarkets, car hire firms, restaurants and apartments to
rent - these stretch all the way from Platenias and Agia Marina - we
turned off inland to see the German war graves here. </span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_9NF3aXNo-3aoQuP04LKequO9Wm0oRQKS_ObDqeQz8Er4hG3FYmnlSJrbre5d-h1SuKRRSSP01RSrGSPmKbzLHrw0HAZ3B4kdvRPx53yr1qRBP9PODpte4T4rOHdvzsQOSpp-kUeAI9y2cy1Uoz3r-jWew8yKycT57VUJYCRp7bBIesYNA/s1280/730-21-Maleme.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_9NF3aXNo-3aoQuP04LKequO9Wm0oRQKS_ObDqeQz8Er4hG3FYmnlSJrbre5d-h1SuKRRSSP01RSrGSPmKbzLHrw0HAZ3B4kdvRPx53yr1qRBP9PODpte4T4rOHdvzsQOSpp-kUeAI9y2cy1Uoz3r-jWew8yKycT57VUJYCRp7bBIesYNA/s320/730-21-Maleme.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><i>Maleme, German cemetery</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">This is round
about one kilometer along a winding road and is very impressive. It
also, by sheer chance, happened to be the 60th anniversary of the
climax of the Battle of Crete, fought in this area between 20 and 30
May 1941. There is an English Cemetery near Chania. The German
Cemetery is laid out on a hillside overlooking the sea and dominated
by a huge iron cross. The tombstones are in neat rows with two to six
names on each stone. The graves are in long strips, now covered in
bright flowering red rock plants with the stones inset. Here and
there a stone cross stands proud, and there is the occasional olive
tree. The edge is bordered by a bright green lawn, complete with
dandelions and clover, and springy underfoot and very un-Cretan. All
is beautifully tended, a haven of peace, and an incentive for peace.
Messages read “You do not have many enemies, only one, called war.
I do not know much about Crete in the second world war, but it seems
the island was occupied by Germany for four years following the
Battle of Crete in 1941. Up until this time, although the Italians
and Germans had occupied the rest of Greece, Crete had been in the
hands of the allies. The Germans saw it is a threat, as it was a
pretty good place to control access to North Africa and the eastern
Mediterranean, so they launched their successful attack, but the very
heavy cost as more than 4,000 Germans are buried in the cemetery at
Maleme.</span></div><p align="justify" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZSk1lJ62jA3WjevEMAFWn6fs6kEJ0DWxdUfAs8oGT1q-5uA1hsFYHh1Cu-Mj4N7PvHGmBL6m72ZMQDZ4pk4zY51S911WP1H3WC50L6TpmndDvOxWq1B5gCOD856bEq0NXI3EBjFLDmWkyStt1GsqIx-jeqAAZu50DvPgc_0NY3dBf1euHA/s1280/730-20-Maleme.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZSk1lJ62jA3WjevEMAFWn6fs6kEJ0DWxdUfAs8oGT1q-5uA1hsFYHh1Cu-Mj4N7PvHGmBL6m72ZMQDZ4pk4zY51S911WP1H3WC50L6TpmndDvOxWq1B5gCOD856bEq0NXI3EBjFLDmWkyStt1GsqIx-jeqAAZu50DvPgc_0NY3dBf1euHA/s320/730-20-Maleme.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Maleme, Minoan tomb</i></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
is ironic that this is the site chosen for the cemetery, as later,
just a few hundred yards away, an ancient burial tomb of the Minoan
period was discovered, showing this to have been the site of for
burials for 3,500 years. We scrambled along a footpath in the setting
sun, beside yet another olive grove, disturbing a large green Balkan
lizard sunning himself on the path. Rounding a bend we came upon the
entrance to the tomb, magnificent with stone walls leading up to the
high gateway with its huge stone lintel. Inside is the chamber about
10-ft square with a stepped roof which has collapsed at the centre
allowing access to the sky. It reminded me strongly of the
better-preserved Cornish fougous, but better crafted and larger. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally
we returned home, where it was at last cool. We sat eating supper on
our balcony, the lights of the tourist Mecca along the seafront
below, and the sounds of Greek music, singing and dancing drifting up
to us, providing us with a free concert, although I am beginning to
tire of the theme tune from “Zorba the Greek” now. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday
31 May continued. </b></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
is now 7:30 p.m. The sun has moved from the patio and it is just
bearable to sit here with a glass of wine and the perpetual birdsong
while Ian cools off in the shower. I have just been for a wonderful
swim in the neighbouring hotel. There is no pool here but Giorgio
says the one with a pool belongs to his brother-in-law and it's okay.
I shared the pool with an assortment of bugs, most of which were
making good attempts to swim into my mouth, and a family with an
inflatable dalmatian which they all shared as a swimming aid. Who
cares? I feel better than I have done for two days. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
nights are ok. We sleep with the doors open, no sign of bugs or
mosquitoes. When we wake about 7 a.m. The sun is already too hot. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0.21cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
morning we walked down to the beach. Daft or not, I used an umbrella
as a sun shade and was glad of it. I have not seen one other person
doing likewise. On the beach folk were spreading themselves out on
towels and oiling up for a day's frying. A topless lass in a
G-string, glistening in oil, strutted back and forth with an equally
oily Mr Universe. Others started to occupy chairs laid out under the
beach umbrellas where they failed to actually lay a shadow on the
sunbeds. We paddled in the tepid, sandy water with the usual shoals
of tiny fishes, no seaweed, interesting stones or rocks and you
needed to walk out miles for sufficient swimming depth, but it was
good for kids perhaps. At least the air felt slightly cooler. The
main problem is that there has been no breeze at all. Just a stone’s
throw offshore is the island of Agia Theodori, uninhabited and a
sanctuary for kri-kri, wild ibex. I felt rather sorry for the ibex,
seeing not a blade of decent grass on the island, relentless heat and
no shade. Still, I suppose they are consoled by knowing they won't
end up on a dinner plate like their goat cousins on the mainland.
Legend has it that the island was a sea monster coming to swallow
Crete - there is a huge cave like a gaping mouth at one end. Just in
time the gods petrified it and it still stands as a huge stone
outcrop offshore. We sat for awhile in the shade of a palm tree
trying to enjoy ourselves but feeling incredibly bored. How can folk
spend all day in an English-speaking hotel or frying on the beach.
Fed up and hot, we returned to the main street, which was even worse,
hotter and nowhere nice to sit for a cold drink. So by 10:30 we were
back in our room, taking cold showers and sheltering from the heat,
reading guide books and writing diaries. Feeling cooler, we set out
later, still in the cooking heat, up to a nearby village, Stalos.
Everyone else was now taking a siesta so no hope of lunch in a rural
village. A pleasant chap suggested a place we might eat so, having no
fixed plan, we followed his suggestion until we got lost and ended up
in the wilds of the countryside at an orange packing factory I have
never seen so many mountains of oranges. We passed several pretty
villages full of fruit trees and flowers, with the usual collection
of sunburnt local men sitting outside the coffee house watching us go
by.</span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
discovered a small lake with some wildfowl on it, deep and clear,
with pondweed but no sign of fish. It is of no size really, but one
of only two this end of Crete and probably anywhere on the island. A
significant flow was leaving the lake, so it must be fed by an
underground source from the Lefka Ori (White Mountains). </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">After
the German invasion in 1941 King George of Greece was rushed across
Cre</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">te</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and down through the Samaria Gorge to evacuate </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">him</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
from the island. He had fled there in the first place because it was
the only part of Greece not under German occupation. We decided to
follow the road up to the Samaria Gorge at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Omalos</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
This turned out to be a 33 km white-</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">k</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nuckle
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ide
up hair-raising </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bend</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
with sheer drops from unfenced roads. The road </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">climbed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
3,000ft over this distance. Most of the road is a reasonable width to
accommodate the coaches that take visitors up, leaving them to
descend 17 km to the sea and take a boat round to a suitable place
for the coach to collect them. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
Gorge is </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">reckoned</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to be the deepest and narrowest in Europe. We have no intention of
going down but it was well worth the drive up there, passing through
isolated villages such as </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Lakki,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
stupendous views back down over the pla</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with its terraces of fruit and olive trees. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvt1mFuWPiZtkD37IKmRrlx-W1qKqPrk3573AG1QghiAl4gAe6quQ29X4Xo1Efb6Wj1h-3CGaq7FSq9uSHSlDLIZKClvtZbWyet1sL0Hp0VRviusIBp-qDU-xZQjy0rtGTlZHalIwqHsBzhRDI5e0IPC8mBMXeJ_y3G27lZe2FU1c-32B_3g/s1280/730-23-Lakki.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvt1mFuWPiZtkD37IKmRrlx-W1qKqPrk3573AG1QghiAl4gAe6quQ29X4Xo1Efb6Wj1h-3CGaq7FSq9uSHSlDLIZKClvtZbWyet1sL0Hp0VRviusIBp-qDU-xZQjy0rtGTlZHalIwqHsBzhRDI5e0IPC8mBMXeJ_y3G27lZe2FU1c-32B_3g/s320/730-23-Lakki.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Lakki</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vhIiYEZhNTgfEQn766MmCFj7acy0fmrh9W3udQaR1AvUIS3ucE1aewVnafhQWkFrnXkNo9NMJ9BLfvG_nQ8n5zSN4zsc1Ue-3rUoy7TwfDj01pasNT5S4FlpbwNNDuuncs18tKO4fJKNa9BKuuLBaKxgt92HkCO_29xfAIX-o0arvLFpLw/s1280/730-24-Lakki.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vhIiYEZhNTgfEQn766MmCFj7acy0fmrh9W3udQaR1AvUIS3ucE1aewVnafhQWkFrnXkNo9NMJ9BLfvG_nQ8n5zSN4zsc1Ue-3rUoy7TwfDj01pasNT5S4FlpbwNNDuuncs18tKO4fJKNa9BKuuLBaKxgt92HkCO_29xfAIX-o0arvLFpLw/s320/730-24-Lakki.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Lakki</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Up here the field</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
still had crops that w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ere</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
green, and there was an abundance of fresh flowers by the roadside.
We observed </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">memorial
by the roadside commemorating the spot where a British soldier and a
Cre</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tan</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
colleague </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">were
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ambushed
in August 1941. Their story is immortalised in the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">memoir</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
</span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">C</span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">retan
</span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">unner,
</span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">written
by George Psychoundakis, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">then
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">young</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Cretan shepherd who became a "runner" in the Resistance</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Eventually
we merged we emerged onto a flat pla</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
1000 m</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eters
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">above
sea level, the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Oma</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">los
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Plain,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
used mainly for sheep and goats, olives and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rain
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">uring
the summer month</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
hemmed in all round by mountains, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
icy cold in winter. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Four
kilometers further</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on the road terminated at the entrance to the Samaria Gorge. It really is
most spectacular and worth the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ong
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rive
just to look </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">own
from </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our
eyrie</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
as the gorge disappeared between the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">fold</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
of two huge mountain </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eaks. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYxFsggrxiE7oN5SAx2zt-kUKGfV6982v88fBHfvMfAiLRPL3ODUdkVhoDhWsPIZ8cM98a2zfSHLVZFbYljhC6BywFS49ncJ_DM4vSQrXDILZaVM1aUf4bUZ3IYhcg8u0UYWzVG67zZyU-dAbKyeruoGdxWw_IOpM6nZo_mDcjY0m0jDZog/s1280/730-25-Levka-Ori.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYxFsggrxiE7oN5SAx2zt-kUKGfV6982v88fBHfvMfAiLRPL3ODUdkVhoDhWsPIZ8cM98a2zfSHLVZFbYljhC6BywFS49ncJ_DM4vSQrXDILZaVM1aUf4bUZ3IYhcg8u0UYWzVG67zZyU-dAbKyeruoGdxWw_IOpM6nZo_mDcjY0m0jDZog/s320/730-25-Levka-Ori.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Levka Ori</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6qzlxbd14p0jHFjse-lXXOdOZIIta12AqL2odF4i-3bxig9HgCAWMgBFXtE6-ZuOZWxTJvvygzE-AaTCAICtY4qYow9pdPFvPz2C8x9kDjDCoUFv8Waks8ON8QvyuZZYNCfnwoMNkSUfsvUXVbR-JxGeDKYT7Tm-65ueC-T7eozrt8FYF5Q/s1280/730-26-Samaria-Gorge.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6qzlxbd14p0jHFjse-lXXOdOZIIta12AqL2odF4i-3bxig9HgCAWMgBFXtE6-ZuOZWxTJvvygzE-AaTCAICtY4qYow9pdPFvPz2C8x9kDjDCoUFv8Waks8ON8QvyuZZYNCfnwoMNkSUfsvUXVbR-JxGeDKYT7Tm-65ueC-T7eozrt8FYF5Q/s320/730-26-Samaria-Gorge.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Samaria Gorge</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>The
tallest</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
is just a few feet lower than Mount Ida and climb</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>ers
are</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
constructing a ca</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>irn
three meters</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
high on its summit to surpass Mount Ida. We spen</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
some time around the entrance, almost deserted at this time of day.
We drank a coffee on the shaded </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>errace
of the cafe before descending back down again on the outside edge of
all the curves, Ian cl</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>inging</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
to the dashboard and uttering </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>prayers</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
Zeus that there wouldn't be a coach on the next bend. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>Zeu</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>s
was in a good mood, or it was </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>simply
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>the
wrong time of day. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>There
were n</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>o
coaches, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>bu</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>t
several suicid</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>al</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>
goats and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>flock</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>s
of mountain </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>shee</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>p.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz81K2GdYEz4MSJPRmFqrXweYtAbS7Zd3mYGfy3ZrhKic7G4UyC3GkkZeeLI5fW7rBWt9lp6wH1LTaOtRA08CSscSYPtNM4NIT8TOgICItqc0BXdYl-i7xnsZp6ufP76LIzcMKa1ob-pItNXoEruPoSLI4uEHp1819dc5yNqmXSaa_wilhJg/s1280/730-27-Omalos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz81K2GdYEz4MSJPRmFqrXweYtAbS7Zd3mYGfy3ZrhKic7G4UyC3GkkZeeLI5fW7rBWt9lp6wH1LTaOtRA08CSscSYPtNM4NIT8TOgICItqc0BXdYl-i7xnsZp6ufP76LIzcMKa1ob-pItNXoEruPoSLI4uEHp1819dc5yNqmXSaa_wilhJg/s320/730-27-Omalos.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Omalos</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjif2Todz1A4cZds81HLxzOJmL8xsHR4uawWjO5lDuWYtNyQTxRLCqnp02POHSUSu27OPI6h0eX4Qs1kVziQbETly5vRWIdxCWCiOOv456mWfjlYSW5u9Mv3z2k8GaSLFhTX6pMtnt5p_7Ej94SA3R1i_106iUjeE76lSGF-XcAhL2n9Ln21Q/s1280/730-28-Omalos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjif2Todz1A4cZds81HLxzOJmL8xsHR4uawWjO5lDuWYtNyQTxRLCqnp02POHSUSu27OPI6h0eX4Qs1kVziQbETly5vRWIdxCWCiOOv456mWfjlYSW5u9Mv3z2k8GaSLFhTX6pMtnt5p_7Ej94SA3R1i_106iUjeE76lSGF-XcAhL2n9Ln21Q/s320/730-28-Omalos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Omalos</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxc8mfbCF1oM2SeZHYmi7iPxVi_1vnz_OCuY08VNhh2OCX3PHqGaJVbZxOR2nQbaY2JRehlcTMM1ma3xLUVFH_gJXjD9xxZvdqgrSo6vnIClbCC8rwd6T-LO_UOmoAdnP9oIQiIMXT83cCreRn8zeA5k9FXGfvPXCmB628WURPi4DCfu2rbw/s1280/730-29-Xirokefalia.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="1280" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxc8mfbCF1oM2SeZHYmi7iPxVi_1vnz_OCuY08VNhh2OCX3PHqGaJVbZxOR2nQbaY2JRehlcTMM1ma3xLUVFH_gJXjD9xxZvdqgrSo6vnIClbCC8rwd6T-LO_UOmoAdnP9oIQiIMXT83cCreRn8zeA5k9FXGfvPXCmB628WURPi4DCfu2rbw/s320/730-29-Xirokefalia.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><i>Xirofefalia</i></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
so back to our room and my welcome swim. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It's
currently 8 p.m. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd
the moon is in the sky. So too is the sun and it's still really hot.
From our balcony we can watch a mother cat returning from searching
for food. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">S</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
now</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
laid out on her side under one of Georg</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">io</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">'s
olive trees whil</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
her three kittens suckle. We have </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">obs</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">served
them playing at other times, and trying to climb into the tree. So
many adorable wild cats, what will become of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hem
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ll?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtw1UDMZl1sTp2gLg-iEpDNzG7PqpeEsbkwVJmPdRe6ZibgXLtx_zL0eijeH-wsCtxCDWnvtYHjSwcURWb7NXAmT6-q-R850ncd3z4PW3JrptmRVpfOTi2t2q-Dx6mQOS2ihAkupxgrz5Ke0DZFyJqe4bo_JET7BMqEwRntEVlmLZyX-1iQ/s1280/730-32.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtw1UDMZl1sTp2gLg-iEpDNzG7PqpeEsbkwVJmPdRe6ZibgXLtx_zL0eijeH-wsCtxCDWnvtYHjSwcURWb7NXAmT6-q-R850ncd3z4PW3JrptmRVpfOTi2t2q-Dx6mQOS2ihAkupxgrz5Ke0DZFyJqe4bo_JET7BMqEwRntEVlmLZyX-1iQ/s320/730-32.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Giorgio's kittens</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As
I sit here now, looking up as the sun sets, turning the Levki Ora a
beautiful pink, I can think of us</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
up there a few hours ago. The evening is cool. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
has now for</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">gone
his long trousers and socks he's been wearing all day and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">donned</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
shorts just as everyone else is dressing up to the evening. There's
something about endearing about his white legs, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">gnat-bitten
calfs</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and pale grey socks. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">G</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ive
me him </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
preference</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to a bronze beach Adonis any day. I won't ask him if he prefer</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
me or a lass in a G-string. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Friday
1 June 2001. </b></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Last
night we decided to eat at the restaurant where the waiter helped us
to find Georg</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">io</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">'s
on our first night here. It was a pleasant atmosphere but all the
customers were British or German. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
ate </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
by candlelight rabbit stifado, which was a sort of stew </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
v</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ery
nice. Afterwards we were given a little dish of something that seemed
like crystallised pistachio flavoured fudge and a little jug of
liquor both </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">del;icious</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
With it we had Cre</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tan</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wine. It turned out to be a sweet red wine, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
malmsey wine, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
apparently comes from here originally. It was rather odd; being used
to the dry red wines of France neither of us liked it, and Ian says
the best </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">use
you</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
can put Malmsey to is drowning </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
Duke of Clarence</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0.21cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
decided to drive into Chania where we hoped to hole up between two
and four in a museum. We parked on the outskirts and walked into the
walled city through little residential streets, many with orange and
lemon trees in their front gardens. Each house seems to be
responsible for maintaining the pavement outside their own property.
This led to hazardous walking conditions and many different ways of
making up the pavements: tiles, concrete, rubble, etc., with sunken
manholes to catch the unwary.</span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxtbYjHN2pDmEKIumi5hKkFVej0JkZOXGdNAo2iVt5wHVI40mguEhSXFGdqHFSNpa-vZlb96Ke3VAyTe6yk_P7qEs9kXp_nag41VUCD0OzUjB7Cgxm1MD1978pw8Y1AtuUeCObgK7tQr8GNNT_hiqoYI2Bk9EqTbDxdxFwTrKL-8dxcGhBg/s1280/730-33-Chania.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxtbYjHN2pDmEKIumi5hKkFVej0JkZOXGdNAo2iVt5wHVI40mguEhSXFGdqHFSNpa-vZlb96Ke3VAyTe6yk_P7qEs9kXp_nag41VUCD0OzUjB7Cgxm1MD1978pw8Y1AtuUeCObgK7tQr8GNNT_hiqoYI2Bk9EqTbDxdxFwTrKL-8dxcGhBg/s320/730-33-Chania.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Chania</i></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OI15N42t34dCgcjzg93VuARV36gsV5CNHuvtTA9ACboyG15i8XZ3cAvGyh1xrP7fdQs8qKPuU-oVLOGT-a6pqzqJVhl5DNMzuGF8DZxnowko-t2XBlUlU7vMNJcFVu-_sqwdA8BMdwzGkuRTaZ63FSUQN1Zx9nmK6E4sE8BlyZ6r5sIDpg/s1280/730-34-Chania.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OI15N42t34dCgcjzg93VuARV36gsV5CNHuvtTA9ACboyG15i8XZ3cAvGyh1xrP7fdQs8qKPuU-oVLOGT-a6pqzqJVhl5DNMzuGF8DZxnowko-t2XBlUlU7vMNJcFVu-_sqwdA8BMdwzGkuRTaZ63FSUQN1Zx9nmK6E4sE8BlyZ6r5sIDpg/s320/730-34-Chania.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chania</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We
made our way down to the seafront and walked around the harbour. The
entire old town is encircled by strong Venetian walls and there are a
number of arsenal buildings of the same period, originally used for
storing ships and weapons. Today they house an art exhibition and
provide welcome relief from the sun. Chania is a remarkable town and
really attractive. Around the harbour area it is beautifully restored
and given over to tourism with countless little shops in the cool
narrow passageways selling the usual tourist souvenirs, with areas
specifically for leather goods or jewellery or knives. Along the
harbour front are countless attractive restaurants with comfortable
tables and chairs shaded by all sorts of sun blinds or parasols where
you can sit sipping cold beer or iced orange juice looking out across
the Venetian harbour to the mole with its minaret. The water barely
rippled. The tide doesn't rise or fall in the Mediterranean, and it
was like a millpond with pleasure boats moored and fishes swimming in
the clear water. Little cats and countless kittens tend to inhabit
the walls of the Venetian defences, or any old or abandoned
buildings. We sat on a terrace with glasses of iced tonic water
feeling exhausted and sticky just from the effort of walking to the
harbour from the place we had left the car on the outskirts of the
town. Everyone else seemed happy and unaffected by the heat, but
perhaps appearances are deceptive. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having explored the harbour area,
looked inside the Turkish mosque with its round domed roofs, and
explored the maze of deliciously cool alleyways and the naval museum
of Crete, we ventured further afield in search of cool churches and
the bank. The Catholic church served the first of these needs. Set
back down an alleyway, its pretty pink interior and traditional
familiar saints and statues and painting styles were a homely
reminder of the universal Roman Catholic church. Across the way, in
front of an open square with huge palm trees, stood the main Greek
Orthodox church. Again it was cool, but very different from the Roman
Catholic church. Here were the traditional Greek icons and the very
heavy use of silver and crystal in the chandeliers, candle holders,
and church furnishings. In front of the icons of particular saints,
strings have been tied holding dozens of thin gold and silver oblong
discs with little pictures on: a baby, a man or a woman, a heart, leg
or arm, which we assume are intended as votive prayers to the saints
to heal or help. Some had the word “efaristo” or “thank you”.</div></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Outside
the church, beneath one of the palm trees, a horse stood waiting to
pull tourists around the streets in an open carriage. He suffered the
indignity of wearing a straw sun hat with his ears poking through.
Having eventually found a cash machine in working order after three
or four attempts, we lunched in the ruins of the Venetian loggia. It
was cool and pleasant, protected by acacia trees and white sun blinds
on top of which cats raced, fighting each other as we ate. The
building dates from the 16th century, built in Renaissance style, but
only the external shell remains. Ian had a tuna onion and tomatoes
dish, and I had stuffed aubergines topped with cheese. We also had a
refreshing cucumber and tomato salad and bottles of iced water. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWKTevwuADk9lXMQtU1t8pTXtICaRWQQn4RnB8m14kNgcF8oFwmzO6BmGRNMVuYV5gFraBKzRoj-ubyuUDMZITLZi_Xj3OJ9QxVQp6A9zfFg6jveuFCXY0zx5wHvnimd6CRCmm18fWR5_oy7i1us5wFEsqOfDD8Ky43k9TxWmJZ_6E66hRA/s1280/730-35-Chania.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWKTevwuADk9lXMQtU1t8pTXtICaRWQQn4RnB8m14kNgcF8oFwmzO6BmGRNMVuYV5gFraBKzRoj-ubyuUDMZITLZi_Xj3OJ9QxVQp6A9zfFg6jveuFCXY0zx5wHvnimd6CRCmm18fWR5_oy7i1us5wFEsqOfDD8Ky43k9TxWmJZ_6E66hRA/s320/730-35-Chania.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Chania</i></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6Xu0RzCyttufCzwmmL8Zx7Iu_dAweHJ2PRyate053huTXNWHcTg52bhTLuzSejGpydlnnCtnLsgHxDFp4SbA4u0DtsaYvQVqBg1Sw-GR-V09v1B-CV2uue21B4be4CveDa2ZAXjn-wTswlcumqbGrwJzafymzt4GTo2lSU7ZkUIf54W1UQ/s1280/730-36-Chania.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6Xu0RzCyttufCzwmmL8Zx7Iu_dAweHJ2PRyate053huTXNWHcTg52bhTLuzSejGpydlnnCtnLsgHxDFp4SbA4u0DtsaYvQVqBg1Sw-GR-V09v1B-CV2uue21B4be4CveDa2ZAXjn-wTswlcumqbGrwJzafymzt4GTo2lSU7ZkUIf54W1UQ/s320/730-36-Chania.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chania</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Then
we explored some other less frequented parts of the town, where the
people themselves live. There were more narrow shady streets but in a
far poorer state of repair, not dilapidated but shabby. Very often so
there were still potted plants and flowering shrubs. The pale
white-washed facades hid dark interiors glimpsed through open
doorways. Here many of the alleyways were empty or occupied by women
sitting outside sewing or just chatting. Even here so we were at risk
from the ubiquitous motor scooters, driven with alarming speed and
noise through the town streets and alleyways. Quite a lot of
restoration work was taking place but it is daunting how much remains
to be accomplished. Most alleyways eventually link up to open onto
little communal squares, cool with leafy trees and palms, often with
a cafe where the older men sat smoking, chatting and playing
backgammon, while the younger ones shouted greetings to each other
and revved up their scooters. One square was named the 1821 Square,
and here we found the church of St Nicholas which had one tower and
one minaret. It looks a strange mixture of architectural styles. In
the square stands a huge plane tree from where in 1821 Melchizedec,
one of the bishop's of St Nicholas, was hanged in front of his own
church by the Turks for taking part in an uprising against them. Just
off the square we found a tiny chapel in a rather poor state of
repair. Within though it was peaceful and had some lovely icons to
female saints, Mary Magdalene and Catherine.</div></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5w8nRPJCNiE5DZ_in4jEgdl_ZZ8CpHjQsVcQqflqNbkLpyrpZNam52h_7QPPrNSFOX0DqvrhuiX2nCsvr9rC2TX8OMLMPhtpUdR6baM-J-V6WZzOip3b60V-UkOxoBKqrGXhtvWRJcbeP6Sc6zHRgE97-TwGbYB761wmDevIFfPbTL0-Pw/s1280/740-00-Chania.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5w8nRPJCNiE5DZ_in4jEgdl_ZZ8CpHjQsVcQqflqNbkLpyrpZNam52h_7QPPrNSFOX0DqvrhuiX2nCsvr9rC2TX8OMLMPhtpUdR6baM-J-V6WZzOip3b60V-UkOxoBKqrGXhtvWRJcbeP6Sc6zHRgE97-TwGbYB761wmDevIFfPbTL0-Pw/s320/740-00-Chania.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Chania</i></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD53ldodanc-rBP5pkA_T0ThCGlJ_OypIQ-AJ2dLfHFElr9wztQAliwrAWjP3ra91RyVUK2S5xhPYQ9merN5JIJKXMALB7cbt4oXn-WmToiZbhL2yQWe4ojV8y5LXltrTJ-ndc1hkfWkN_uQjYyZ2-TtRWFt6ZE7ExjZ_W9Vl_nVVHcG91pA/s1280/740-01-Chania.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD53ldodanc-rBP5pkA_T0ThCGlJ_OypIQ-AJ2dLfHFElr9wztQAliwrAWjP3ra91RyVUK2S5xhPYQ9merN5JIJKXMALB7cbt4oXn-WmToiZbhL2yQWe4ojV8y5LXltrTJ-ndc1hkfWkN_uQjYyZ2-TtRWFt6ZE7ExjZ_W9Vl_nVVHcG91pA/s320/740-01-Chania.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chania</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj9v7igxG6AJXhpaPtrFuO_5SKxQ6OOjYi-8-bD9a6yWqeDTvzb3t0lfdgGSWAPFWnausGZQbIYVMnzav6abXcQZ9tLPyISMi5bBK0Atss6cwOiJsGhDuEE2V2fhBgm14IBNmW-wj20JQMTuEkI380UziZkWRhduy9JIfffuJzNTXfsP-nIQ/s1280/740-02-Chania.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj9v7igxG6AJXhpaPtrFuO_5SKxQ6OOjYi-8-bD9a6yWqeDTvzb3t0lfdgGSWAPFWnausGZQbIYVMnzav6abXcQZ9tLPyISMi5bBK0Atss6cwOiJsGhDuEE2V2fhBgm14IBNmW-wj20JQMTuEkI380UziZkWRhduy9JIfffuJzNTXfsP-nIQ/s320/740-02-Chania.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chania</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDlJijxOQ87fUc6gTiDytlF3coxhIypyOeJ4-GDlflGtO4MZJy2Jn7SGHkIIWqCMh5HYa7j45ctxnVJgrf3cqv-iWeO3Oo2oaUKXGRj0dLVyPd49e3OQU-KRPTCkntKUe-9ZgPQ8dOuJnqaxCRh6zk6wiYMp_dMzOR-eHzkTYvQFmtQTvSA/s1280/740-03-Chania.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDlJijxOQ87fUc6gTiDytlF3coxhIypyOeJ4-GDlflGtO4MZJy2Jn7SGHkIIWqCMh5HYa7j45ctxnVJgrf3cqv-iWeO3Oo2oaUKXGRj0dLVyPd49e3OQU-KRPTCkntKUe-9ZgPQ8dOuJnqaxCRh6zk6wiYMp_dMzOR-eHzkTYvQFmtQTvSA/s320/740-03-Chania.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Chania</i></div></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By
now we were exhausted and made our way back to the harbour to
discover, joy of joys, a breeze has blown up, and even some wisps of
cloud were in the sky. It made the mile walk back to the car
following the coastline almost bearable. Passing the seafront
swimming pool we stopped off to watch Italy vs the Netherlands ladies
water polo international match. It was a cool wet thing to watch in a
place where the sight of water had become an obsession with me. The
match was commentated in Greek with scores given in Greek and
English, good number practice for us. Italy won by seven to five.
Returning to the car we drove through the centre of Chania - the
confidence a good navigator can give one - and made our way to Souda
bay and the British war graves cemetery. This is in a beautiful spot
overlooking the sea with the mountains of Levka Ora behind. In the
peaceful heat and sunshine of today, it seems hard to imagine the
horror of 60 years ago when young Allied soldiers defended this very
area from the invading German forces. There are more than 1,500
soldiers from the allied forces of Britain, France, Canada, New
Zealand and Australia, far fewer than the 4,000 or more in the German
cemetery at Maleme, but even this number is more than there should
have been, so many unidentified, “known unto God”. Flowers and a
photograph on one such grave decided us that it had been adopted by a
family who did not know where their own loved one lay. Each white
headstone stands facing the sea in perfect lines, as in France,
English flowers, roses in reds and pinks, bloom around the
headstones, and the very English bright green lawns have been tended
and trimmed with the same care as in the regions of Northern France.
Pathways lead to a central monument bearing a cross, and the area is
surrounded by flowering shrubs, beyond which the land the arid land
and bare rocks of the surrounding hills rise up. </span></span></span>
</p><p align="justify" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYLUUZElYAi5FPwzP2ZFwu9BxiVfcb7OhHloU7p6zgqVHM53Ys2vCyaCwhYodddJQ5yPjfauEXv8orpUrQNFYNQJCe4kJHJESSIG4sfsDoz6veThBRArrGM4YTDlbaEbtoJJ15ej8Y7Ag7-Gm1XYo51uOO9_XGRaeJ3QUUlBlu9JIU9ZAd5A/s1280/740-04-Souda.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1280" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYLUUZElYAi5FPwzP2ZFwu9BxiVfcb7OhHloU7p6zgqVHM53Ys2vCyaCwhYodddJQ5yPjfauEXv8orpUrQNFYNQJCe4kJHJESSIG4sfsDoz6veThBRArrGM4YTDlbaEbtoJJ15ej8Y7Ag7-Gm1XYo51uOO9_XGRaeJ3QUUlBlu9JIU9ZAd5A/s320/740-04-Souda.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Souda, Commonwealth war cemetery</i></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVnT5TDKYJZkM2k_oTj6VVd-X9djw0K04PbDGbN102ozgkPK3d9IHQ001sZg0antCKbskjxE7yB1W0rMAe_6FYho8hciossyu_Fq3we3quLD8viAxMQrhwPLkj07cG5Un64PzPERvyBk3rdnpd-PU2WHdWM2XV3ufL3IgI4XXXXsN7FuGbQ/s4032/740-05-Souda.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVnT5TDKYJZkM2k_oTj6VVd-X9djw0K04PbDGbN102ozgkPK3d9IHQ001sZg0antCKbskjxE7yB1W0rMAe_6FYho8hciossyu_Fq3we3quLD8viAxMQrhwPLkj07cG5Un64PzPERvyBk3rdnpd-PU2WHdWM2XV3ufL3IgI4XXXXsN7FuGbQ/s320/740-05-Souda.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Souda, Commonwealth war cemetery</i></div></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
we left the guardian had gone, and groups of youngsters arrived to
shatter the peace with their scooters. They entered, shouting and
laughing and proceeded to romp and play on the deep cool green grass,
happy to enjoy such a pleasant spot in their dry country, and
oblivious to the significance of the place. A war 60 years ago on
their soil, and the death of so many lives is purely history to them.
We assume the Greek soldiers who died are all buried in their own
local churchyards. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then
back to our studio and welcome showers, and supper on our balcony as
we watched the nest of kittens and their mother on their evening
prowl. </span></span></span>
</p>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-91482502521778288842023-02-26T15:09:00.002+00:002023-02-26T15:09:32.177+00:00Crete 2001. Linear B.<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><b>Saturday
26th May 2001</b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>.</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">awoke</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
late this morning. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">New</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
visitors has arrived during the night, and there were five children
playing around the pool. The proprietress came to chat to us in
French again. She seems really happy to use it and is obviously a
very knowledgeable lady, telling us much about the sights and their
history. She told us today will be a good day to visit the Iraklion
museum where all the finds from the different sites are displayed.
Obediently, we abandon</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the car for the day and walk</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to the bus stop on the main </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Iraklion</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
Agias </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Nichola</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
highway. Eventually a public bus screeched to a halt, the back door
opened and a p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ortly</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Greek conductor shouted “</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Iraklion</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">!
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">C</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ome
inside, sit down, 1,100 drachmas, thank you, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">mister”,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
so we got on board and did as we were told. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was welcome air-conditioning and Greek music accompanied us us us us
all the way to Iraklion bus station including a diversion to the
airport. It was good to be a passenger and enjoy the view </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
we</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
travelled the edge of the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ay
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
Island of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Di</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
offshore and the b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are
h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ills
on the landward side. The journey took about </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">thirty
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">minutes,
excellent value at about £1 each. We pass</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
through endless resorts and apartment blocks, most</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ly</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
unfinished. Even those that appear</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
complete </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">usty
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">teel
rods sticking out of the flat roofs in the hope of extending upwards
when finance allow</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
The ground was dry and pa</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rched</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
grass and leaves yellow and withered, with the skeletal shells of
abandoned buildings and accumulated builders’ rubble everywhere.
The land is unforgiving; where in England spoil heaps would
eventually be overgrown by v</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ege</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tation,
here they remain st</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ark</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
lumps and boils on the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">andscape
for ever. It really is unbelievably ugly and sad to see it so
scarred. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Crete</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
strikes me as naturally beautiful in its landscape overall, but </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ba</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re
and ugly in its min</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">utiae,
even</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
apart from the damage modern developers have created. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
are </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on
a </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Greek
island, but there are far more signs saying </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mackinson’s
Furs and Fashions, Silber Schmuck, Kaffee mit Kuchen</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
etc </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">than
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are
signs in Greek. All the road signs are fortunately in Greek and Roman
characters except on the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">more</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
minor roads. We can work out the main places now, more or less.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvSkLN5-iXX6xQspLgGwWiV4KF8e6nybsWLLvE5quMMjMLMhwmX0US9fH1JXpdHupSoiLf_v1TwG5a35IHZgnxZu0QjdqHV-tzi35oswEOprH6AYFvcCmsJyvUZXbkqzQBvWDYS7LLO2l_2ifh5rUCyrpN_KwkMm6XJI0DxxK_iBFV5XFrg/s1280/720-25-Irakleion.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvSkLN5-iXX6xQspLgGwWiV4KF8e6nybsWLLvE5quMMjMLMhwmX0US9fH1JXpdHupSoiLf_v1TwG5a35IHZgnxZu0QjdqHV-tzi35oswEOprH6AYFvcCmsJyvUZXbkqzQBvWDYS7LLO2l_2ifh5rUCyrpN_KwkMm6XJI0DxxK_iBFV5XFrg/s320/720-25-Irakleion.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Iraklion, harbour</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><p align="justify" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>So we alighted </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> at the bus station near the port where the inter-</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>sland </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>erries dock, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>just as a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> car ferry was loading. Ian bought a return bus tickets from the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>k</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>iosk to save time if it was busy when we wanted to return, and we wandered along the harbour front where the Saturday market was in full swing. This was a revelation, as much as anything to to observe the character on the faces of the men and women selling their produce. Everyone was happy, calling to each other, even shouting for the sheer pleasure of making loads of noise, only to be outdone by a neighbouring st</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>allholder</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>. Shades were everywhere to protect from the sweltering sunshine. It was mainly fruit and vegetables that </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>were </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>on sale, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>huge</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> tomatoes, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>peppers, cabbages</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>, mountains of dark glossy aubergines and pale round cucumbers. Th</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ere were stall</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s of bananas and oranges, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>everything</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> sold by the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>k</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ilo in big plastic bags. People ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> trolleys </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>l</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>aden with potatoes, oranges and tomatoes. They must have huge families, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>unles</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s they are destined to hotels or restaurants. Other stalls sold cheeses and fresh fish. Little cafes serving spit-roasted kebabs, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>known as</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> souvlaki, were frequent</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> as much by the stall holders a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> the market customers. Given the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>eat and the lack of ice in use, I </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>would not have</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> trusted either the fresh sardines or the kebabs. It was an interesting and enjoyable experience, th</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ough Gree</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>e has a lot to learn about the art of presentation, both in its markets and in its shops. Those in the villages just serve </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>straight</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> from the delivery boxes without bothering to display properly at all. It has character, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>bu</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t makes finding what you want, when you don't know how to ask, rather a matter of luck.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvqejI1l0Gqn6PoDq0GD_U_urso3T8hEuTRKFmVP9cj4MWfCfOMy1YJjY9tsj-P-5SPVT6R8D4e5huYlXlZmQobaIyj6wQDNexlYnRw7a2tgo6lOz6eS03csY74rK99AudLXbqUDAFJKX7rfNz-dzQnoUwSeuipEbs8AxcDQe5o5qFkrx_A/s1280/720-26-Irakleion.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvqejI1l0Gqn6PoDq0GD_U_urso3T8hEuTRKFmVP9cj4MWfCfOMy1YJjY9tsj-P-5SPVT6R8D4e5huYlXlZmQobaIyj6wQDNexlYnRw7a2tgo6lOz6eS03csY74rK99AudLXbqUDAFJKX7rfNz-dzQnoUwSeuipEbs8AxcDQe5o5qFkrx_A/s320/720-26-Irakleion.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Iraklion, arsenal</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>We </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>n made our way around the marina, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>past</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> the Venetian Arsenal </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>with its</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> massive </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>vaulted c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>hambers. Out in the bay la</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>y the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>itadel </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>with it</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s huge Venetian walls, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>looking</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> most impressive. We climb</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> the steep </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>treet </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>up in</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>to the town, past the </span></span></span></span></span>church of Agios </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Tit</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>os
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>(</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>an
early </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ishop
of Crete</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>)</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
with its pineapple </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>alms
giving welcome shade in the little </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>quare
in front. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Eventually
we reached the big main </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>quare,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>built
high</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
on top of the Venetian </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>amparts,
where views could be had over the bay and down over the she</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>r
edge of the rampart to the street below. We stopped for lunch in a
shaded </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>errace
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>where
we were serrved mo</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ussaka
and Greek salad, both excellent, for about £2.50 each.</span></span></span></span></span></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Finally
we went to the museum. It was wonderful and we were we were there
several hours. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
proved very fortunate that we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
already visited a couple of the sites, so seeing the artefacts and
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">frecoe</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
place</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
them in their setting. I particularly liked the early pre-palatial
pottery from around 2000 BC</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">E</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
It was perfectly formed, with wonderful covers and simple attractive
shapes. Some p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ts
were fired, others turned in a variety of local </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">clay</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
There </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wa</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
nothing chunky or crude about them; they were delicate pieces of
crockery, pretty shaped cups, long s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">outed
ju</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
and elegant vases. Further on there were </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">amphorae,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
storage jars the height of a man. There was gold jewellery,
ceremonial double-headed a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">x</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">es
from around 17</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">00</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to 1400 BC</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">E</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
seals, figurines of b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lls,
pigs, humans. The</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re
were c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lay
tablets </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">incised
with tex</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ts
in linear </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and linear B, ritual drinking vessels, clay models of houses, bronze
and copper tools and weapons, and even ceramic coffins. Upstairs were
restored frescoes from </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Knossos.
G</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">iv</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">en</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ragments
they had </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">from
which to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">recreate
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">riginals,
a great deal of imagination was needed, and I doubt </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">whether</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the original was really much like the reconstruction. Indeed we saw
one fresco where it was later decided it had been wrongly
interpreted. Next to it was the reinterpretation and they were two
totally different pictures! We saw the little bee pendant in gold
found at the palace of Malia, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is exquisite. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">here
was </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">also
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
lovely leopard axe-head from Malia, and the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ull’s
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ead
from </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Knosso</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
It was exciting to see in reality something that </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">become
so familiar from history and guide books. Of course, the bull appears
everywhere, depicted in clay, a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
statu</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ettes</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
decoration </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
vases, painted or in</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">cised</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
in frescoes, as oil lamps, votive jars, or just as life size model
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eads.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Eventually feel sated, so </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>left and made our way to the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>El Greco </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>park for a rest, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>before venturing on to the streets</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>. In Iraklion there are thousands of little </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>cooters tearing around the back streets with usually a couple of people on. We even saw </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>some</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> bikes with father, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>m</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>other and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>hild </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>pro</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>pped in front. Almost never did anyone wear a crash helmet. It seems so very dangerous that I'm astonished that it's legal. So many visitors hire them and pop about the various towns. I wonder if the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ir</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> insurance covers any accident resulting from not wearing a crash hat. After further pottering around the streets, we bought vegetables and olives at a supermarket and made our way back to the bus station. There the conductor on our bus made it clear that we should have returned on a bus at 12:50 when I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>an</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> bought the tickets. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ow do we explain? </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>E</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ventually he </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>hrugged </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> signal</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>led</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> to us to get on board. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>He</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> was actually very </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>kind,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> and look</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> after all his passengers very well on the overcrowded bus, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> mixture </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Greek, English, German, Dutch and French passengers.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKwFkH1ddozNeJDYT2dBMM-OieG-XTy5qP6T876onUXtNd83DaYuelBhQTCdw7LHdFZvuEImqpIKVrj8KqOlFVbC2iGHgUXKC8QowMyXxVawn_f_ONhwo4ZNGxcRt9sI42Y9uZIkdl0qumAH_V4gXTQiIFZNUKlT_VOXGATr33YWFAouMZA/s1280/720-27.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKwFkH1ddozNeJDYT2dBMM-OieG-XTy5qP6T876onUXtNd83DaYuelBhQTCdw7LHdFZvuEImqpIKVrj8KqOlFVbC2iGHgUXKC8QowMyXxVawn_f_ONhwo4ZNGxcRt9sI42Y9uZIkdl0qumAH_V4gXTQiIFZNUKlT_VOXGATr33YWFAouMZA/s320/720-27.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwZoeKDiWFQRSb62c5YDgeh4j5s6Hd5ePKSX6PIKl5_f_gKPYFMaobjc5SD0RrehgfA2luDzD1gCWzlzxbPF-ot-lKPhbfuCkg6_CiQj5YTG5cJ6-MnsN6JqZGpGtUNCM3qj7x-7iwfmI6OP0j4Lzbxj5fW4O8Anqm6df-XBqXEgi0sxuEg/s1280/720-28.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwZoeKDiWFQRSb62c5YDgeh4j5s6Hd5ePKSX6PIKl5_f_gKPYFMaobjc5SD0RrehgfA2luDzD1gCWzlzxbPF-ot-lKPhbfuCkg6_CiQj5YTG5cJ6-MnsN6JqZGpGtUNCM3qj7x-7iwfmI6OP0j4Lzbxj5fW4O8Anqm6df-XBqXEgi0sxuEg/s320/720-28.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Elma Apartments</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Once
back at our apartment, as it was only 7 p.m. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>e
decided to explore the road down to the sea near where we caught the
Iraklion bus. This le</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
down to the old village of An</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>assaris</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>.
Actually they didn't seem to be anything </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>particularly
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>old
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>about
it,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
just developing apartment blocks and the couple of tavernas plus one
huge, very nice looking block of apartments, complete and covered in
beautiful purple shrubs. The beach is nothing special, co</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>rse
white </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>an</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
rocks </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>that
look</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
like builders’ rubble and the little </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>oad
alongside lined with clothes and souvenir shops with all the signs in
Dutch and German.</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I'm
afraid that having spent my early childhood just after the war in a
prefabricated home surrounded by clear</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
bomb sites and rubble, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">where
w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eeds
overgrow the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arth
and skeletal </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sh</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ells
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of
bombed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
buildings remain</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to be dismantled, Cre</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">te,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with its half-built shells, patches of dried up weeds, rusty wire
fencing, builders rubble’ and spoil </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tips,
looks</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
very similar. I cannot be blind to it, and I cannot find the
countryside beautiful; </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">till
not one drop of flowing water have we seen. Everywhere is so </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">arid</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and lifeless, and its popularity as a tourist resort has added
enormously to it</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
uglines</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Amidst</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
it al</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">though
the people seem delightful and very friendly. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
m</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">akes
me ashame</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to think that here, if people work hard and master </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">severa</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l
languages, they become sufficiently qualified to get jobs as
waitress</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">es,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
shop assistants or car hire agents if they're lucky.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
decided to have supper in one of the t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">avern</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
in the village, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sitting</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
outside near the sea in the dark and surrounded by flowering
geraniums. It was a lovely setting with Greek music playing, and the
delightful waiter who patiently allowed us to order </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">two
souvlakis and two</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
beers in Greek. W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
were delighted when he not only understood, but corrected our Greek
to make </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">single
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">beer
into the plural. The meal was delightful, and it was lovely watching
other diners enjoying their evening to</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o.
O</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ur
bill was about £9 for the two of us. As we went to leave we w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ere</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
order</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to sit down and wait. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
few moments later we were given a glass of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ouzo
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">each
- compliments of the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ouse.
Actually, to my surprise, I thought it rather nice </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">though</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Ian finished it for me. I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">flavoured
with </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aniseed
and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">an
excellent digestive. W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
walk</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the mile back to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ou</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r
apartment in the dark, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
end of a very pleasant day. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday
27th May 2001</b></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today
start</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed
and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ended
rather cooler than normal, which was a relief. This afternoon the sky
actually turn</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
grey and we expe</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rienc</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
few</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
timid spots of rain. That's probably it for the summer now, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
really we almost didn't notice it. We decided to explore the area
around Elounda and then visit </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Agio
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ni</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">k</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ola</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
The fast </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad
took us through </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">erson</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">iss</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">os
and Malia. We then decided to take a close-up look at </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">N</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eopoli,
which we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">passed
through on our first day here. It turned out to be very pleasant, and
quite and commercialised. Being set back from the coast, it is
generally ignored by s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ummer</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
visitors. We parked beneath the shady tree in the main area near a
park where are lots of local </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hildren
played on the climbing frames </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">while</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
their parents at on on </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ark
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">benche</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
watching </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">them,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
or took a Sunday morning drink on the terrace of one of the nearby
bars. There was actually a pond f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ull
of</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
lovely goldfish. The children were delighted with it, and kept
dropping bits of gravel from the park into it. It's about the only
water w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
have</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
seen anywhere in Crete, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">but
holds</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
exactly the same attraction for kids as anywhere else in the world.
Almost immediately an elderly man shouted to us: “</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">G</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ood
afternoon! English? German? </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">G</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ood
sleep? </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">appy?
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">G</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ood
holidays? </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">N</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ice
country? I wish you nice day! </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Auf
Wiedersehen!”</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
He was lovely, and it made us feel so welcome. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
explored the backstreets of the little town. Men sat on chairs in the
street, back</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
against the wall, chatting, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or
sat beneath a tree on the corner of a road playing backgammon while
others watched</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
seems t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o
be the national o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bs</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ession
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ere.
Again, tiny cats </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eyed
us</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with suspicion and large dogs snooze</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on the pavements. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
discovered </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rather
smart looking baker’s with the door open, so went in. A lad of
around </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eleven</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
or </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">twelve</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
popped up from behind the counter and modestly said he understood </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
little English. He proceeded to explain which of the cakes in the
shop </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
like</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
best, and ended up selling </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
an assortment of little cakes and biscuits, which was sold by weight.
He also he also </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">old
us some black bread - we tried to say </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rown
but he insisted it was black, which it wasn't. He also very honestly
explained in delightful English that as it was Sunday it was only
yesterday's bread. We bought it anyway and it was fine. We returned
to the park to try his biscuit selections. We </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ve
decided that Greek pastries and da</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">inties
are not</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
really very special, and actually it </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
the same mixture made up in different </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">forms</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
We loved our chat with the delightful lad though, and I think he was
rather pleased with himself for serving </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">us</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
so well. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
visited the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">own
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hurch.
No matter how poor any town or village may be ,its church is always
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">erfect.
No half finished building work, and so much money lavished upon it.
Not that </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Neapoli</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
strikes one as poor. It is a comfortable little town with </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">plenty</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of greenery, and the buildings are in a good state of repair with no
speculative building as elsewhere. The church is perhaps </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
century</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
old, typically Greek with walls of dark </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">reen</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ish</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
blue inside, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">decorated</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with frescoes of the Greek saints and a huge chandelier like a wheel
in the horizontal position dominating the centre of the church. The
little windows set into the plaster </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of
coloured </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">glass,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
allowing little pools of bright colour to form on the tiled floor.
These </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">indows
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tend</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to be </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">iamond,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lub
or lozenge shaped. Next to the church is a much smaller </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hapel
o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">der,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
with</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
some lovely old icons painted on wood. On the walls are crude signs
of Christianity, th</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Greek </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">letters
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">x
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(chi)</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and p </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(Rho)
superimposed, the first two letters of</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Christos, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">but
almost</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
like graffiti. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
wished we'd been able to stay in </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Neapoli</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">With
it</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
several restaurants and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hady
terraces it would have been a delightful place to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">be
based</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
if we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
been free to make our own arrangements as in Corsica. All around the
true Cre</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ta</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
countryside could be seen. Go</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ne
was</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tat</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> of modern tourism; </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">it
was</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
just a local town, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">set
against the backdrop of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
hills rolling upward in</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
the cloud</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
cover. From </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Neapoli
we struck</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
north </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">up
t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">inding,
deserted road through the mountains passing </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">through
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">almost
deserted villages such as </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kourounes,
Finokalia, Skinias and Vrouhas</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Most villages have their church, indeed some have more than one. So, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">although</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> the village may </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">seem</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> deserted and in ruins, the churches were immaculate.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebwS_79O7enAqqOiqGFZRzwsTmiFeN3-7tZNHo-RKSJ3qxmjBkshujkf5c9i3eVWkc29eIYgDh47RrSqpgIgMoYvomsBq6rkHO2jnkFUvapjZO1seUkwIoxEIIViYEgzeZFN5IddjKsXf39Ens6HTya15r_fErpCn33tLAo2gb3IfGOqbww/s1280/720-30-Elounda-near.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebwS_79O7enAqqOiqGFZRzwsTmiFeN3-7tZNHo-RKSJ3qxmjBkshujkf5c9i3eVWkc29eIYgDh47RrSqpgIgMoYvomsBq6rkHO2jnkFUvapjZO1seUkwIoxEIIViYEgzeZFN5IddjKsXf39Ens6HTya15r_fErpCn33tLAo2gb3IfGOqbww/s320/720-30-Elounda-near.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><i>Church passed on our way to Elounda</i></span></span></span></span></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>The countryside was still </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>arid,
but</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
the val</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ley</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s
were filled with olive trees and the overall impression was one of
dark green vegetation and grey scree. The clouds h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>u</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ng
low at times, adding a mystical quality to the deserted landscape.
Even the villages seem</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
deserted, the stone walls of the ruined houses blending easily back
into the natural landscape of tumble</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
boulders. The </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>arrow
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>oad
twisted through the villages with here and there a </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>tub</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
of geraniums or a flowering creeper covering a house front the only
evidence that the village was </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>inhabit</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed.
Then, on the outskirts, we would see the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ecropolis,
usually a tiny </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>hapel
surrounded by flowering shrubs and tombstones, with photo</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>graph</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s
of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>he
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>eparted
sitting along with bunches of plastic flowers on each tombstone. The
mountain-sides are bare rock, so </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>burial</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s
all have to be above ground. </span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfyVpcbRDCe9LZU-CXmA4EYmWpqzk00d9r496Ihux29D3-Y7ADFnn-k1DkQ-UqQYO6jm3QqdiULHmHM5BBAXE_95M3m1vJ7gxlB7MuJhneJ8NOf6NRWjP-qwqfixgVCzrgxFh1FjrDHZO1tEZ4K9_LmdhUbv7Gn_eufWofO5VSktZadjlqWg/s1280/720-29-Notalias.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfyVpcbRDCe9LZU-CXmA4EYmWpqzk00d9r496Ihux29D3-Y7ADFnn-k1DkQ-UqQYO6jm3QqdiULHmHM5BBAXE_95M3m1vJ7gxlB7MuJhneJ8NOf6NRWjP-qwqfixgVCzrgxFh1FjrDHZO1tEZ4K9_LmdhUbv7Gn_eufWofO5VSktZadjlqWg/s320/720-29-Notalias.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Windmill at Notalias</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Frequently
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">long
ridges we would see the remains of a row of windmills. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
have the feeling that they have all fallen into this used within the
past </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">thirty
y</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ears
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or
so</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ther
they were used for pumping water or grinding corn I don't know. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWWr3bymqC9a_9nRsdOMPnqGJ2BquD_0NXh4-3asyGf453lth1tnEvQl3_CtRL5ZdGTm50BmVx0CHP2bxThc5GWH_xeFWTSzMMlPby0tuKh7FPxrsLwS-fOzNpBQiEKBZLp0Fi6SHcjA2fw1UvMbhAAuIjdCOE0GWsHKW_ix_2sdDVFBr9Q/s1280/720-31-Spinalonga.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWWr3bymqC9a_9nRsdOMPnqGJ2BquD_0NXh4-3asyGf453lth1tnEvQl3_CtRL5ZdGTm50BmVx0CHP2bxThc5GWH_xeFWTSzMMlPby0tuKh7FPxrsLwS-fOzNpBQiEKBZLp0Fi6SHcjA2fw1UvMbhAAuIjdCOE0GWsHKW_ix_2sdDVFBr9Q/s320/720-31-Spinalonga.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Bay of Mirabella with Spinalonga</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">At
last we saw the sea </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">orth
coast, and began our endless descen</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
down to the Bay of Mirabella. The sea was an astonishing bright blue
with fishing boats and larger ferry boats shining in the hot sunshine
as they cut across the bay. Immediately offshore is the island of
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">S</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pinalonga
which was once used as a leper colony and continued in use </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
such long after after the development of modern drugs to treat the
disease render</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
such isolation unnecessary. Today it looks beautiful in the blue sea
with the much bigger </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sland
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lying
beyond to its south</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
The latter is linked to the mainland by a small </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">isthmus</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of land where we later discovered </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
beautiful dolphin mosaic from a very early Byzantine basilica.
Stopping to look down on the beautiful blue sea and the hillside
b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">elow
u</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s,
we also looked up at </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">owering
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eights
above, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
bare</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
yellow rock face </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pockmarked
b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
many cave entrances. Eventually </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
reached sea-level and follow</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the line of the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ay
around </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Elounda,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
passing the pleasant little village of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Plaka,
just opposite the former leper colony,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
where the water </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lapped
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">right
up to the road. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjsjygO9nF7TWpQoIEFI2fnvktOMZ9SSkFDcu0jqcDd_ScdVLNXVuB3mHwSbEqC4O85jLKRAZs1EmE344JMPFxy_dL9ru3frdsDPix_yVWFcVPONGg37HtMBSL6QGYgMEb3vlL8ki9Y01tCxEQNStYwlY-j-9Y4BrZHxVVSxWPTX-VK_uXg/s1280/720-32-Elounda.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjsjygO9nF7TWpQoIEFI2fnvktOMZ9SSkFDcu0jqcDd_ScdVLNXVuB3mHwSbEqC4O85jLKRAZs1EmE344JMPFxy_dL9ru3frdsDPix_yVWFcVPONGg37HtMBSL6QGYgMEb3vlL8ki9Y01tCxEQNStYwlY-j-9Y4BrZHxVVSxWPTX-VK_uXg/s320/720-32-Elounda.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Elounda, waterside restaurant</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">At
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Elounda</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
parked and walked around the large main </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">quare,
lined with restaurants, souvenir shops and shops selling sponges
gathered from the Mediterranean </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sea</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bed.These
were expensive and I'm not sure if it's all ethical because of
over-exploitati</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Anyway we decided against buying one, which I don't think </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">endeared
u</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
to the lady selling them. Along the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ater's
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">dge
restaurants </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">vied</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
for custom. We selected a really nice place, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hady
and built out over the water. We </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">decided
on</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
swordfish with rice </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">vegetables
and while waiting look</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
down into the crystal clear water at fishes swimming in profusion
just offshore. Several little cats also </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sa</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
wa</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tc</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hing
the fish, just too far out of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">their
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">reach.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A
couple of ducks pottered around - strange on salt water. The beaches
were small and not really very nice, with lots of detritus, either
sea weed or drinks bottles. However the water is warm and clear, with
little sponges, seaweeds and tiny fish right up to the shoreline. The
meal was lovely, and afterwards we explored the town which, despite
being immensely popular with British tourists, remains remarkably
pleasant, though I doubt it is still recognisable as the little
fishing village of its former life. We watched the little white ferry
boats loading and discharging their modern-day human cargoes, plying
back and forth to the former le</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">per
colony just offshore. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvk_ZAh5xYlyLf-2apuMfzybn-81JCJlkpMfIEv3EaX0C9UC2XX67V7R3A8RMAiqzZWNk9TGmUSKbHVnNygd750VABOuFJIlGLuxemy9nwpYzaqhSJd5R6rMkln0K67iHiGBPSQE2-rErnTrAR0biaaM-yX5mO_hBDJZYfLZfb93Z7iWyTQ/s1280/720-33-Elounda.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvk_ZAh5xYlyLf-2apuMfzybn-81JCJlkpMfIEv3EaX0C9UC2XX67V7R3A8RMAiqzZWNk9TGmUSKbHVnNygd750VABOuFJIlGLuxemy9nwpYzaqhSJd5R6rMkln0K67iHiGBPSQE2-rErnTrAR0biaaM-yX5mO_hBDJZYfLZfb93Z7iWyTQ/s320/720-33-Elounda.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Elounda, dolphin mosaic</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span><p align="justify"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Eventually
the heat became unbearable so we drove around to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Agios
Nikolaos</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
where the sky had clouded over and threatened to rain, but it failed
to deliver except for a couple of sp</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ts.
We were pleased to find how pleasant </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Agios
Nikolaos</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
is. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>It
is c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>onstructed
around </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
harbour form</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
from a former bottomless pool, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>thought</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
to be 60 </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>meters</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
deep, which has now been linked to the open sea. We wandered around
the harbour, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>where</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
local children mixed happily alongside those of holidaymakers from
around Europe. They seemed keen to test the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ir</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
English, with one little girl coming up to us and saying “hello”
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>very
boldl</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>y
before turning sh</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>y</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>.
It looks a pleasant place for a relaxing holiday, with seaside walks,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>network
of little tourist shops, and an endless choice of waterside
restaurants.</span></span></span></span></span></p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Around
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">7
p.m.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
we decided to h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ead</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
back to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Anisaros,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and within 30 minutes on the fast </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ew
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we
were home - </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">it
took </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hours</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
getting there over the mountains on roads just one step up from dirt
tracks. Back here it has been scorchingly hot and sunny all day. I
jumped in the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pool</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and did 25 l</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ength</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">while</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Ian organised supper and a bottle of Cre</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tan</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wine - how civilised! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzppp3HAQbGxIQ9IK3RaF-oDoi42w-flJ3S5JOVCNPXC9HkiI2xA6gys0LZY3MAPKpi8K2mhxpdETmtj6XK8KnR7ocy4oShGYWf2JPr42tKBTiKfZcuLhhkESozHoWEE0ND_vB416yBVHJZoN1ENVcqnPlePJwQjdnkMTSsAb_dP8gtxCUw/s1280/720-34.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzppp3HAQbGxIQ9IK3RaF-oDoi42w-flJ3S5JOVCNPXC9HkiI2xA6gys0LZY3MAPKpi8K2mhxpdETmtj6XK8KnR7ocy4oShGYWf2JPr42tKBTiKfZcuLhhkESozHoWEE0ND_vB416yBVHJZoN1ENVcqnPlePJwQjdnkMTSsAb_dP8gtxCUw/s320/720-34.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>No caption needed</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday
28 May 2021. </b></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today
has been ou</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
last day at this end of the island, and we got back so late tonight
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
I've had to forego my evening swim and also find out where the
headlights are on the car. It </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
about 9.30 p.m. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd
I'm on our patio for the last time, drinking some very nice </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Cretan</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wine and nibbling black bread and taramasalata whil</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
waiting for Ian who </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">showering
off the accumulated sweat and grime from driving across Crete on
partially constructed roads accompanied by clouds of white dust.
Around me large beetles are dive-bombing, attracted by ou</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
patio light. Each morning we find the bodies of several where they
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">have
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">crashed
and f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">allen</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on their backs, kicked and struggled to turn over, and finally die</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
By 10 a.m., </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">un</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">less
I've moved them all to the geranium beds, they are surrounded by
hundreds of ants </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">busily
diss</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ecting
them. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
hard green apricot has just fallen from the tree and hit </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian,
now out of the shower,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on the head, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">probably
dislodged by another kamikazi beetle</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Today we decided to visit the sites of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">G</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ty</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">F</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">est</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
The journey was a long one and took most of the day. It was </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">resh
up in the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">D</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ikt</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ia</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
mountains, but lower down it was stifling. We took the scenic route
through </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kastelion,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">long
quiet, reasonable roads through a landscape </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">beautifully
planted and tended vines with the mountains rising impressivel</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">behind.
A couple of months earlier no doubt they would have been green almost
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
their summ</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">its,
but now they were yellowing and pa</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rched</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
The </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lives
and vines however we</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re
we</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ll
cared for and looked green and healthy. Certainly we were very
impressed with the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">andscape,
but particularly with the way the Cre</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tan</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
people have adapted to and learn to live in harmony with the
landscape. We feel today we we seen the real Cret</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
real people, real villages, real landscapes. Having passed through
the little town of the ten Cretan </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aints,
A</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">gii</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
De</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ka,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
martyred for their faith in the third century, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
stopped at </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">G</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ty</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s.
It was unbelievably hot in the valley, and every move </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">was
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">an
effort. We visited the early Christian </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">asilica
with rather nice </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">re</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">production
icons, then struggling across an exposed area to the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">deon
or theatre section. Behind and protected w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">G</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ty</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
law code dating to the 6th century BC</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">E</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Th</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
laid down the laws of the city state, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">punishments
for various offences, and was written in boustrophedon, zigzag writing alternating backwards and forwards line by line.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Gortys_law_inscription.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="242" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Gortys_law_inscription.jpg" width="366" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Gortys law code (Wikimedia Commons GNU FDL)</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />The rest of the town and later
Roman developments </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lay</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ar
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ide
of the main road spread out within the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">live
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">roves.
It really was punishing</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ly</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
hot, so we gave them a miss and drove about a mile up and thr</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ough</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a village to the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ope</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ills
overlooking the site. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<p></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_e90wZpEDaf3WZINPRwdTHIJ0qklkulj67fPjpsh-VSydvqa2RT1Fc1SuxgF81tIkhVXjtCNaT6f62YjvGJzufX8wpO3eH7yd3r53CfgrKW7Mg_oAJFjQb4lEAZzla0Um8c2377fdl3kvvnOkeQZHZfWkcE7A8-g4qDiMchid7Fx5F97Tw/s1280/730-00-Gortys.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_e90wZpEDaf3WZINPRwdTHIJ0qklkulj67fPjpsh-VSydvqa2RT1Fc1SuxgF81tIkhVXjtCNaT6f62YjvGJzufX8wpO3eH7yd3r53CfgrKW7Mg_oAJFjQb4lEAZzla0Um8c2377fdl3kvvnOkeQZHZfWkcE7A8-g4qDiMchid7Fx5F97Tw/s320/730-00-Gortys.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Gortys</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQ7TXhsg4PKQc9I8kCaeoF9GLPxz_6sCGJh-gK2g5dliM0qJl4wl5Jd3Ienwmn6dL4npg1SzjE28mB-8qqUhfRHDlViNl4pkrs1Vr0t-ypj1XcsbC8qMVwMauCK72PITt-GMyPCqu58qjBzQCBfgKBngf-cj-9SlO3X-_rf0XioKLvnCZVA/s1280/730-01-Gortys.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQ7TXhsg4PKQc9I8kCaeoF9GLPxz_6sCGJh-gK2g5dliM0qJl4wl5Jd3Ienwmn6dL4npg1SzjE28mB-8qqUhfRHDlViNl4pkrs1Vr0t-ypj1XcsbC8qMVwMauCK72PITt-GMyPCqu58qjBzQCBfgKBngf-cj-9SlO3X-_rf0XioKLvnCZVA/s320/730-01-Gortys.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Gortys</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7n5VbWiTy6tTZ3MlxfsNSemwkyo1OocM8dgCAxUAq6laWc6vDLnatIgeKbGPnO6r7FrZU4zwiOpnXWO5Zx-f8n31n_F8HdP4XcWFQ2B64KyuHMwoeTDOBO-S3OsNcB_LLpvelIKeyj15EsAHsmWCkYuH1FO3aAdkFdYzMUwm1n8xiFZNCw/s1280/730-02-Gortys.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7n5VbWiTy6tTZ3MlxfsNSemwkyo1OocM8dgCAxUAq6laWc6vDLnatIgeKbGPnO6r7FrZU4zwiOpnXWO5Zx-f8n31n_F8HdP4XcWFQ2B64KyuHMwoeTDOBO-S3OsNcB_LLpvelIKeyj15EsAHsmWCkYuH1FO3aAdkFdYzMUwm1n8xiFZNCw/s320/730-02-Gortys.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Gortys</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyX87hLayqoNJ2A1VP6TkbXLJyR68aJalAQd7Wn2AGbnvd51CIGm-jxyAgUeKLR58yIVKsY28GJYJ_JSlgBfa38GGRRd57Qe8JRcXpWS3KCXmjpcrwtDWDboKqP4bj-MJGxPJj79RL1l6wsUavxEegU1EEkpjA4tSo2ny-FJWPO1iHgHugrw/s1280/730-03-Gortys.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyX87hLayqoNJ2A1VP6TkbXLJyR68aJalAQd7Wn2AGbnvd51CIGm-jxyAgUeKLR58yIVKsY28GJYJ_JSlgBfa38GGRRd57Qe8JRcXpWS3KCXmjpcrwtDWDboKqP4bj-MJGxPJj79RL1l6wsUavxEegU1EEkpjA4tSo2ny-FJWPO1iHgHugrw/s320/730-03-Gortys.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Gortys</i></div><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Here
was the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>cropolis
of the town, and nobody at all ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
found their way up here. With a gentle breeze to help us, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>e
left the car and clambered up through the rough dry grasses and dead
flowers to explore the site with its Greek tiled walls. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>There</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
was a surprising amount still standing. Ian actually picked up the
handle and part of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>C</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>retan
turn lying in the grass a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>mong</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
stones and rubble. Having expressed excitement </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>at</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
finding it, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>he</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
then left it there. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ow
honest, Elgin certainly isn't his middle name! From the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>cropolis
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>there
we</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>re
excellent views down </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>over</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
the site and the surrounding countryside. All the views </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>were</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
magnificent and all similar: </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>v</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>alleys,
cultivated landscapes, olive trees, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>vines,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
scattered </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>firs
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>and
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ypress
trees. White villages and green mountains </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>rose
up</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
to a definitely blue sky. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>I
descended the hill</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
ahead of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Ian
and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
I was fortunate enough to start</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>le</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
a bright lime green creature about the size of a rat that shot out
from a bush at my feet and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>isappeared
into the nearby </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>crub.
I really think it must have been a chameleon. I </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ve
read they live here, but can hardly believe that I've actually seen
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>one,
though i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t
w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>as</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
all too quick.</span></span></span></span></span></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6sFusjEqVB3Q0SMajhnMnSa68Hg7ztCRyaT_wjf81jw8CIXG78GDkE3HmLnBJbsWdyxzuEuG3kP-plDrxr68doLDes3_tB6lHoZ0a9fZ_eUX91F6ztyW5r17-O0wlE-QXJlNdRHDgB7pn7WIL-ectoeXMPnBHkBJ-B5I0zMtWeIb6d09-w/s1280/730-11.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6sFusjEqVB3Q0SMajhnMnSa68Hg7ztCRyaT_wjf81jw8CIXG78GDkE3HmLnBJbsWdyxzuEuG3kP-plDrxr68doLDes3_tB6lHoZ0a9fZ_eUX91F6ztyW5r17-O0wlE-QXJlNdRHDgB7pn7WIL-ectoeXMPnBHkBJ-B5I0zMtWeIb6d09-w/s320/730-11.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>In the Psiloritis massif</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3uI_K5-EC6f2VUj8cI5nlBTptueUvmDmRqGuRncqXJnrR2BErmzkkHUSZ0DXkihDfE7pFyCquq-TMx3Iug3P8dc_wpRgNDnsxkrS6b3Rno0A1XRJ0RtroFoGdgnNs8psE8aMFW4LyyDZSOElqAILL8g_Nb8gtx9HWoARVCZuJ1vK8bI1ndA/s1280/730-12-Psiloritis.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3uI_K5-EC6f2VUj8cI5nlBTptueUvmDmRqGuRncqXJnrR2BErmzkkHUSZ0DXkihDfE7pFyCquq-TMx3Iug3P8dc_wpRgNDnsxkrS6b3Rno0A1XRJ0RtroFoGdgnNs8psE8aMFW4LyyDZSOElqAILL8g_Nb8gtx9HWoARVCZuJ1vK8bI1ndA/s320/730-12-Psiloritis.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Mount Ida</i></div><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hen
on to Phaistos with Mount Ida, the home of Zeus, towering above it,
its crevices</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
still packed with snow. It hardly seems believable with temperatures
so high; </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
almost felt we could stand and watch </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
melted. There is a very strong wind on the south side of the island
that was most welcome but rather to powerful swirling up dust into
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">un</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pleasant
little </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">whirlwind</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
that st</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ung</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the eyes and fill</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the nostrils. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
person </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at
the entrance</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
switched from French to English as he turned from the people in front
of us to sell us ou</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
tickets. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sked
how many different languages he spoke, to which he replied modestly
and with a nice smile, “I speak very good Greek”. We sat in the
cool shade of the restaurant balcony drinking iced water looking up
at Mount Ida before braving the heat of mid afternoon to wander
around the Minoan site of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">P</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">haistos.
It is beautifully set, with the Libyan sea in </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ne
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">irection
and M</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oun</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
Ida in the other. The </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">emains
are substantial and the fin</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s,
in the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">raklion
museum, are significant; it must indeed have been an impressive site
originally. Parts were </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">from
the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">early
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">P</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">alatial
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">period</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
the majority later. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
are three</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
courtyards and some later Hellenic </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">areas</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eem</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to be several flights of steps and even some complete </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hambers
with modern concrete roofs, filled with huge storage vessels, so it
was easier to imagine what it was originally like. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtbL62eAOLqmxawpSoOYlF8wQKKzgTn-QpPdEyS8c1B0J4DVzHIqMchS4y3GkXDA8Aorzl3RnRcoh5VNGdaWDnqOTig3eOpIs-ZPF9liN0eaUHnomE6Z1ez2hWfMA3TKD95LeB5whgDjYGWf2rR_sL3DUWWTiA6vqTLMMvnlijBlz3YrHLkg/s1280/730-05-Phaistos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtbL62eAOLqmxawpSoOYlF8wQKKzgTn-QpPdEyS8c1B0J4DVzHIqMchS4y3GkXDA8Aorzl3RnRcoh5VNGdaWDnqOTig3eOpIs-ZPF9liN0eaUHnomE6Z1ez2hWfMA3TKD95LeB5whgDjYGWf2rR_sL3DUWWTiA6vqTLMMvnlijBlz3YrHLkg/s320/730-05-Phaistos.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Phaistos</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibqVZMBMO-HeIvnXExA1Jp-leXsc_uCtaxaN7pHTGdqTSGTBtrk4nNdZ_dFz-5tjg6XVBSW3nOyWFM7QPd3WuITNDOuCaLJfsGRpZCS-_XsR45Tv2a3b9Stdq2LHJEc9A-yhQCMePtHoDSzr0cP18925ocrhGWozo34xrTwK8QJCGnUOS2Lw/s1280/730-06-Phaistos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibqVZMBMO-HeIvnXExA1Jp-leXsc_uCtaxaN7pHTGdqTSGTBtrk4nNdZ_dFz-5tjg6XVBSW3nOyWFM7QPd3WuITNDOuCaLJfsGRpZCS-_XsR45Tv2a3b9Stdq2LHJEc9A-yhQCMePtHoDSzr0cP18925ocrhGWozo34xrTwK8QJCGnUOS2Lw/s320/730-06-Phaistos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Phaistos</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjyh8xk_4rVjzQf6kTl2_V0Ookll5pxq6-eKJD18L0Yi1l64zIaxscGOGFBMBLmyvUpOpXqIroXjG-ydvTymH6pstkvuk5nlRMBvOSaME21liSDsDCzqvNaurCmyfs7FLjbJc-gmZ0DtSZ2QDq1K7-S6nflc0WysFcj7D6frSVgk7EGB91Q/s1280/730-07-Phaistos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjyh8xk_4rVjzQf6kTl2_V0Ookll5pxq6-eKJD18L0Yi1l64zIaxscGOGFBMBLmyvUpOpXqIroXjG-ydvTymH6pstkvuk5nlRMBvOSaME21liSDsDCzqvNaurCmyfs7FLjbJc-gmZ0DtSZ2QDq1K7-S6nflc0WysFcj7D6frSVgk7EGB91Q/s320/730-07-Phaistos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Phaistos</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVMeLJfXGVswdhVf3jspljzcYDS7P34lv-uYqILTR1Ts9630pF447cUUdU8Uq_bihfpYMKwsdGY9Agr7apJ5tjBMHzadaU-D8gEtbYLuxYTPTBlrrBj9BmrAoDGnZom_ALozHZybO3Ac0zFyQjh36FldRxyg_OkRArXTj-20TwgEbW6o2Ikg/s1280/730-08-Phaistos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVMeLJfXGVswdhVf3jspljzcYDS7P34lv-uYqILTR1Ts9630pF447cUUdU8Uq_bihfpYMKwsdGY9Agr7apJ5tjBMHzadaU-D8gEtbYLuxYTPTBlrrBj9BmrAoDGnZom_ALozHZybO3Ac0zFyQjh36FldRxyg_OkRArXTj-20TwgEbW6o2Ikg/s320/730-08-Phaistos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i>Phaistos</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>I
saw my only lizard so far, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>eeping
out from a crevasse </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>amid</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>tones.
We also saw, hidden beneath </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ju</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>tting
bits of w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>al</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>l,
t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>o
separate collections of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>three</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
tiny kittens, too young to stray, left by </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>their
mother</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
as she went off hunting. They </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>peered
out</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
from the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ncient
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>tones,
looking unbelievably cute and small enough to sit in the palm of your
hand. What will become of them? Already we have come to realise there
are hundreds of wild cats in Greece </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>that
are</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
nobody's responsibility.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDAQ47-49ll257NoptbbYlx0dtcnHch8rgCvlhOtoHndLhG_xKUtAU1FaeEUP17N6mxiGX7gtnT67wfKW6fRygCrd7WEgJl9GQ3SBBZ2SKmgqwBLrouYcpcgXjKLL0U05icE2MEKb5pqwkzrEOaCuA6TSfWxqys77tzxUFQewsmtVPRH2aQ/s1280/730-10-Agia-Galini.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDAQ47-49ll257NoptbbYlx0dtcnHch8rgCvlhOtoHndLhG_xKUtAU1FaeEUP17N6mxiGX7gtnT67wfKW6fRygCrd7WEgJl9GQ3SBBZ2SKmgqwBLrouYcpcgXjKLL0U05icE2MEKb5pqwkzrEOaCuA6TSfWxqys77tzxUFQewsmtVPRH2aQ/s320/730-10-Agia-Galini.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Agia Galini</i></div><br /><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Back
at the car around 5.30 p.m., </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
decided we drive the 16 km to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Agia
Galini</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on the south coast to see where </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">our
German friends Hubert and Sigrid</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
spent last week. It turned out to be a very pleasant little town
nestling in a little fold in the cliffs, one of the very few places
on the south coast where it is possible to reach the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ea.
It is built steeply </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">up</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the cliffs from the sea, with endless flights of steps linking the
little streets. Everywhere there are terraces with bamboo awnings to
protect from the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eat.
All are full of tables ready to serve supper to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">isitors.
At night it would seem the entire town becomes one huge open-air
restaurant! It is a pretty place, all </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
houses </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">white-washed,
with flowering shrubs covering the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">acades
of the buildings. At the foot of the town is the marina, and from the
end of the jetty wall an excellent view can be had back to the little
town. There are pleasant beaches, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lear
water and, according to the guide books, nice clifftop walks to other
ba</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ys</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
can appreciate </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wh</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
Hubert and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">S</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">igrid
love it and return every year. There is enough to do without getting
bored, but it is also very relaxing. We bought ice cream on the
little </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">each
by the harbour and sat watching children play </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ater’s
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">dge.
Maybe this time last week </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hubert</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was doing the same; </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ith
hi</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nthusiasm
for “l</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ck
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Eis”,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
it wouldn't be surprising. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
realised </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">time
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as
pressing and we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">best
be heading back. We decided to return across the mountains as it
shows more of the countryside than taking the main routes up through
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">raklion.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
did however take considerably longer and we didn't get back until
after dark.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
have now just returned from chatting with the hotel lady in French
and with her son Manos in English. They really are delightful,
friendly people</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
We had a very nice filtered coffee with them which </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
made using decaffeinated coffee as </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">she</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
reckon</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
it wouldn't prevent </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">us
from</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
sleeping. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
were told that the King of Saudi Arabia and his </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">twelve</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wives had visited E</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lounda</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on Saturday where he' </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
spent a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
couple of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">million
pounds</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
billion drachmas</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">)</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Apparently he bought all his wives jewellery and himself a cup of
tea. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
suspect he</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
must have bought a few more things which haven't been mentioned. His
sister will be spending her honeymoon there soon and I </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">gather</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
he was testing the place out. Man</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">os
and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
family are wondering if they could persuade </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">him</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to stay here instead!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>People </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>here </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>really are friendly. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>As they passed us, o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ne car </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>hoo</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ted and everyone wave</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> as they all shouted “</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ello to you”. We stop</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ped for</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> petrol and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>were</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> served by a little </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>lad</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> of about </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>six</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> who had to reach up to get the pump. He </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>strode</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span> up and asked quite clearly in English “</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>K</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ey, please. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>L</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ead free? </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>F</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ull?”. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>e was so cute. When it came to pay saying he took the money and then yelled for Dad to check it out. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Such c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>onfidence.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxW__U3qcMXpvWNvtQ59Z32bSn1PtPZBQ0cxBNaIMaZAIm3uYdgdJq_D7AbLgSG_6AaWx8-thEDnOCFPfR3Tee-hcZTuD4Rfc8_cm05-NhV0fYEiUDk8u8nUWPELZ2vuViORi4mMCqaXvFrTpyeS_oBZTGNrIDEvfiG_D53oiYdnc0FJl8g/s1280/730-09.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="855" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxW__U3qcMXpvWNvtQ59Z32bSn1PtPZBQ0cxBNaIMaZAIm3uYdgdJq_D7AbLgSG_6AaWx8-thEDnOCFPfR3Tee-hcZTuD4Rfc8_cm05-NhV0fYEiUDk8u8nUWPELZ2vuViORi4mMCqaXvFrTpyeS_oBZTGNrIDEvfiG_D53oiYdnc0FJl8g/s320/730-09.JPG" width="214" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Our young petrol pump attendant</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p align="justify"><br /></p></div></div>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-38604429766636110882023-02-26T15:06:00.001+00:002023-02-26T15:06:42.818+00:00Crete 2001. Linear A<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Introduction 2023</b></span></span></p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This account of a two weeks snatched holiday, in drachma days before our retirement with Modestine in 2005, was narrated from Jill's manuscript travel diary with only minimal editing. Some of the errors from the speech recognition software may have escaped, and it has not always been possible to identify all the pre-digital photographs precisely. It may be possible to add a map later, but Crete is an awkward sausage shape and the precise routes taken impossible to ascertain twenty years on. Just enjoy Jill's inexhaustible enthusiasm for our travels, gripes and all.</span></span></p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday
20 May 2001</b></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tomorrow
we go up to spend a night in Croydon and leave the car at Aunt José's
whilst we take a two-week flight from Gatwick to a Mediterranean
island, much as we did when we went to Corsica two years ago. This
time however we are heading for Crete, where we have booked an
apartment for a week towards the eastern side of Iraklion at
Annasaris and another week towards the west in a village not far from
Chania. We have arranged to hire a car for eleven days of our stay so
we can explore each end of the long island and get up into the
villages and hills in the interior of the island. We have made a
rather weak attempt to learn a few words of Greek and the Greek
alphabet but apart from “please”, “thank you” and “I would
like some red wine, please”, we have not made much progress. If
road signs are written in the Greek alphabet, I'm going to be relying
rather heavily on Ian's map reading skills.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday
21 May 2001</b></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
beautiful sunny morning, and we are at José's, with superb
views out over the surrounding wooded gardens. Being situated on the
top of the hill we also enjoy distant, misty views across Croydon and
beyond, if we lean precariously out of the window and look left.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
arrived about 7 p.m. yesterday. Uncle George and Mary were already here and
we spent a lovely evening, the six of us together, with a quiche
salad and white wine, watching three foxes playing on the lawn in the
gathering dusk around 9:30 p.m. - two young ones and a much larger
one. José put scraps on the lawn near the window and they came right
up close, though always keeping a wary eye on us all. They were
really beautiful and I've never seen them so close for so so close
for so long. I wonder if we'll have an experience to equal it in Crete.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday
22 May 2001</b></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
am writing this at one in the morning Crete time, which is 2 hours
in advance of British time. I've got a concrete bed, which feels
really comfortable. We have to put out put our used paper in a
bin beside the toilet rather than flushing it away. There is only time
for a general impression after a reasonable journey. It seems cooler
here than in Britain. After the usual delays, we arrived at our
apartment about one and a half hours late. Everywhere was in darkness
as we left the airport, so we have no impression at all so far of
Crete other than following the coast along from the east to land at
Iraklion. Annasaris is about 30 minutes east of the airport, and we
we can hear planes coming into land now. I hope it won't disturb us
generally.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
the courtesy coach pulled off the main Iraklion to Agias Nikolaos
road, our hearts sank. A little track past building works and general
rubble led to the Elma Apartments. However the place is nicely laid
out with a lot of flower beds, crickets singing, and pretty moths
fluttering in the lamplight. The apartment is very pleasant with cool
concrete walls and tiled floors. There is a kitchen with a fridge and
hotplate, a shower, a breakfast area and a patio with a swimming pool
beyond. The only trouble is that it seems generally isolated from
anywhere. The nearest town is Iraklion – 3,000 drachmas for a taxi.
There is an open-air bar with a delightful young man who cooked
cooked us a pizza, as we have had nothing much to eat all day, and we
didn't fancy a taxi into Iraklion to find a restaurant. He also
served us sme local wine which was dry and sharp but tasted okay. We
sat by the pool with a table lamp, eating and drinking with crickets
singing. The young man was very sweet about our efforts to learn
Greek and made us repeat phrases after him. We did manage to ask for
our two glasses of red wine and a pizza and be understood - language
is magic isn't it! Then he disappeared, and a lady who turned out to
be his mum took over. We asked her for two more red wines which
worked perfectly, and then she asked if we spoke French. Two hours
later she is now our best friend and we've discussed all the places
of common interest in France. She worked there for five years in her
youth, and she's now 65. She helped us with Greek pronunciation and
vowel sounds, and it turned into a really friendly evening. Her son
speaks very good English but has never visited England. He has been
explaining, with a map, a number of nice nice places we should visit
whilst we are here.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday
23 May 2001</b></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm
really weary so I will probably finish this account tomorrow. We
awoke late, Crete being two hours ahead of UK time. We sat outside on
the patio, sipping Earl Grey. The sky was overcast but there was a
hot, sultry heat that was stifling. As we discussed what to do, the
person arrived to deliver the car, a day too soon, but we reached an
agreement with the owner which suits all of us, so we are now the
adoptive owners of a little Fiat Cinquecento with a soft roll back
sunroof which seems fine on all the hills and twisting roads.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRq9wEFwax3wjNRlDZuAF8LRzJTHZt3zWeEv0xEK1WKHA7FYCfW4uYSdLkiNfjIzDKeoGDT5uj9_FZYkP3MukTEFOPBNPq0jToyBLtsWsR6DOZ4Duu6Pv8GELb6_1JEPwPQcg3lC0oDWLUrg0opO0pwOJT_DRfVPurLDF0zPRoS-FQLMkptA/s1280/720-01-Gonies.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1280" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRq9wEFwax3wjNRlDZuAF8LRzJTHZt3zWeEv0xEK1WKHA7FYCfW4uYSdLkiNfjIzDKeoGDT5uj9_FZYkP3MukTEFOPBNPq0jToyBLtsWsR6DOZ4Duu6Pv8GELb6_1JEPwPQcg3lC0oDWLUrg0opO0pwOJT_DRfVPurLDF0zPRoS-FQLMkptA/s320/720-01-Gonies.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>View at Gonies</i></span></div><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
set off in the direction of Kasteli, turning off via Gonies and Krasi, where we
stopped for fresh pressed orange juice and rice stuffed in vine
leaves. From there we continued to the windmills, a whole line,
mainly ruined, above Kera. We continued down to the plane of
Lasithiou, laid out in little fields and plots with small vineyards
scattered amongst them. The whole plain is ringed with mountains. It
is strange to discover such a flat area that around 700 meters high. </span></span></p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFubgRhJyNi_S_eOicHk3UChx5i9rKFgF5q5l5lnAqYh7RDJ8mpjqFiciDIXmo8wZL14E_sZz7nGq44blax6ah4b7vIbxUMtZbiu3bBuC4Z1G7-XrpP4tehJ1yamh7kgAl6eYJbhfWXyFzC26PBttkfdQvn4-Kxu9b3g5rOaSUjeMiDSxtw/s1280/720-02-Lassithi.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFubgRhJyNi_S_eOicHk3UChx5i9rKFgF5q5l5lnAqYh7RDJ8mpjqFiciDIXmo8wZL14E_sZz7nGq44blax6ah4b7vIbxUMtZbiu3bBuC4Z1G7-XrpP4tehJ1yamh7kgAl6eYJbhfWXyFzC26PBttkfdQvn4-Kxu9b3g5rOaSUjeMiDSxtw/s320/720-02-Lassithi.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The plain of Lasithiou</i></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrZ3tQL3HlSluUZYqZpDYYWHUumgzAWkJv8Nfa3PBL634EeSMXfO0hUao-JHDvqdsp5zPHEK2CS4kH4IHbzOQdymPwuBZx5QwabRlbbuDgP5T7fkTyEojUeA_5XhOEEn4LcUGS-03bfkv4BD9U-p01JkZIESrY1Ym7xPhoaOy4_ih_4bYlQ/s1280/720-03-Lassithi.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrZ3tQL3HlSluUZYqZpDYYWHUumgzAWkJv8Nfa3PBL634EeSMXfO0hUao-JHDvqdsp5zPHEK2CS4kH4IHbzOQdymPwuBZx5QwabRlbbuDgP5T7fkTyEojUeA_5XhOEEn4LcUGS-03bfkv4BD9U-p01JkZIESrY1Ym7xPhoaOy4_ih_4bYlQ/s320/720-03-Lassithi.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The plain of Lasithiou</i></div></span><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At Psirho, which means ice cold, a run-down little town selling
ceramics and Cretan rugs to the many tourists passing through, we
turned off up to the Diktian Cave, reputed to be the birthplace of
Zeus. We parked, and had to walk the last bit. In today's unwelcome
heat this was an exhausting experience but at least we feel fitter
for it. Zeus is said to have been born and raised in the cave in
secret because his father had a rather bizarre habit of eating all
his children at birth due to a fear he had that one of them would
overthrow him and become king in his place. That one turned out to be
Zeus. His mother gave her husband a nice juicy stone to eat instead,
and it would appear that his father Chronos never even realised it
wasn't a newborn baby. Either the writers take us for total idiots to
believe all this, or the gods are a short-sighted load of highly
gullible wallies, to judge by the things that are supposed to have
happened in Greek mythology. </span></span></p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Yh698ilt_wEThuq18TE7HSIQu-XkTUvTRejIYskwNvigXmqPuDczlF3vFKJmaRsLpNm1HPNKejnuPLYEbVPBnGQmvhNvTdulmQS5iNDQ_RHTbgkZ56DmL1r8rp4xfphhtIJRNcX_65S7kkP80B8_mBnraYUGPORhqZy9DBDY_P6FjaSYOA/s1280/720-04-Diktian-Cave.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="867" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Yh698ilt_wEThuq18TE7HSIQu-XkTUvTRejIYskwNvigXmqPuDczlF3vFKJmaRsLpNm1HPNKejnuPLYEbVPBnGQmvhNvTdulmQS5iNDQ_RHTbgkZ56DmL1r8rp4xfphhtIJRNcX_65S7kkP80B8_mBnraYUGPORhqZy9DBDY_P6FjaSYOA/w114-h168/720-04-Diktian-Cave.JPG" width="114" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrt2roXxQlUSsEAKRzeU5ZyDyiBA4OtMNgXmgcapO17_r8M4jXsD85gGZpHvCLlJn6KUpV-XIZygocME8D8DpevglhMkvurb3Ibjt9wjAlYXoU63tdTDQPfdTTKCjJIyyHwliO9Po-xI7TnbV7Wevg6SOMWHIZRZAIsnEVWELBNtfHJQ_ew/s1280/720-05-Diktian-Cave.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1280" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrt2roXxQlUSsEAKRzeU5ZyDyiBA4OtMNgXmgcapO17_r8M4jXsD85gGZpHvCLlJn6KUpV-XIZygocME8D8DpevglhMkvurb3Ibjt9wjAlYXoU63tdTDQPfdTTKCjJIyyHwliO9Po-xI7TnbV7Wevg6SOMWHIZRZAIsnEVWELBNtfHJQ_ew/w250-h169/720-05-Diktian-Cave.JPG" width="250" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Rock formations in the Diktian Cave</i></div><p style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The cave itself is superb, descending vertically from an opening through which from the bottom you can see look up look up to see sunlight streaming and nesting birds soaring. There are supposed to be Mediterranean bats here too, highly likely but not in evidence. You descend down well laid concrete steps to a lake at the bottom. On all sides are limestone stalactites and stalagmites which is really the main feature of the cave. They are magnificent and well illuminated, so it is easy to imagine faces and figures in their contorted twists and flows. The greatest joy however was the icy coolness that struck ever stronger, the deeper we descended. The lake is about 44 meters down.</span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNm-jnQw0mTzXr4EgovZmzFmTwGMqsD1bqvW8AufAVi1kCygbRZcnlHz8JACsxVzagIwHZUkZsSmP-GZndigOZg1b_9vD1G9bVRo03Ha3Fnz1HJChUtDoV3ZTljKrbDn78XDVdoUVfvCBbnLG-swHHqdDVg2nEvf1tWrPx1YAPTLlmTNfsAw/s1280/720-06-Diktian-Cave.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNm-jnQw0mTzXr4EgovZmzFmTwGMqsD1bqvW8AufAVi1kCygbRZcnlHz8JACsxVzagIwHZUkZsSmP-GZndigOZg1b_9vD1G9bVRo03Ha3Fnz1HJChUtDoV3ZTljKrbDn78XDVdoUVfvCBbnLG-swHHqdDVg2nEvf1tWrPx1YAPTLlmTNfsAw/s320/720-06-Diktian-Cave.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Underground lake in the Diktian Cave</i></div></span><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left;">Later
we continued along the level plane of Lassithiou and then up
eastwards, stopping for an ice cream at Vigla with views down across the hazy plain. We got into conversation with a Danish retired
couple who were back in Crete for the second time in five weeks, they
love it so much. We then descended the Potamos Valley, a descent that
seemed to continue for ever. As we rounded a bend, a little white
haired man barred our way, forcing us to stop. Gesticulating, he
informed us that he was Greek and asked our nationality. Then, using
an odd mixture of disconnected words in Greek, English and German, he
told us it was good we were English - he didn't like the Germans –
and he not only insisted on shaking our hands wildly, but kissing us
both and giving us oranges. We asked in embryonic Greek how much for
the oranges, but he was adamant that they were gifts. Lots more hugs
and kisses, flowers put in my hair, and we were allowed to leave.
Maybe in an isolated place it's excitement whenever any stray tourist
finds their way through. I've had the feeling already that German
people are not really liked by the older Cretans here. They were
occupied during the war and they are old enough to still remember.
However it is no more fault of young Germans today than it is that we
should take the credit for the events of the war. In neither case
were any of us even born at the time. It is hard to explain that to a
little man kissing you with his great moustache and a smell of
cigarettes when you don't speak the language.</span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
continued via Neapoli, which looks a very pleasant place, and then
joined the new road back through Malia along the coast towards
Iraklion. At Hersonissos we stopped and stocked up on food and drink
at a supermarket bursting with Nescafé, Fairy Liquid, Boddingtons
ales, and other products essential to the well-being of the British
on holiday. We managed to find delicious loaves of very dark brown
Cretan bread, Greek yoghurt, local honey, peach juice, Cretan red
wine, beer, taramasalata, cucumber, tomatoes, fruit, and salad stuff.
Ian had a headache and dusk was falling. We had to find the Elma
studios, as we had left by a back route, so headed for home. Ian had
a sleep while I went for a swim in the pool - sheer heaven. The water
fairly steamed as I jumped in. I had it to myself and could swim with
a view down to the actual sea some quarter of a mile away. A few
people turned up to sit by the pool and watch. Everyone here is
English, very pleasant and friendly. </span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By
the time I returned to our apartment and showered, Ian was feeling
much better, so we had a delicious salad on our patio and enjoyed the
cooler evening air, though still hot, with all sorts of interesting
moths and bugs of the night attracted by our patio lamp. </span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My
personal impression of Crete so far is that it is astonishingly arid.
It is a miracle anything is produced here at all. There are very few
flowers, no grass, bits of scrub, but generally up in the hills there
is nothing but grey scree with outcrops of white limestone rock with
the occasional scrubby bush clinging to maintain a foothold. In most
places even goats are not in evidence. Lower down and in the plains
they are tethered along with donkeys on the edge of the villages
beneath olive trees for shade, but even here there seems nothing for
them to eat. Fields seem barren, pale yellow earth, filled with rocks
and nature's rubble. We have not seen a stream or any running water
since we arrived. The earth is incapable of holding water; how the
country supports so many tourists as a mystery. I assume, being
limestone, that there are underground reservoirs, and that the many
windmills we saw operating on the Lassithiou plain are used for
raising water to irrigate the little fields. The roads seem fairly
good. Off the beaten track one has to navigate potholes, but the
roads are generally fine, reasonably wide, without a lot of traffic,
and most of that seems to be tourists, so there is not much hassle.
Compared with Corsica the roads are excellent and twice the width. </span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To
tell the truth, I cannot yet see that Crete can hold a candle to
Corsica. I have seen little so far, on our first full day, that is
particularly beautiful or impressive compared with Corsica or green
Spain. Much work has been done opening up new roads and improving old
ones. This means that all roads seem like scars across the landscape,
with rocks and boulders piled beside and beneath the newly surfaced,
wide roads. It is a massive engineering programme in such heat but,
with the land too arid for natural vegetation to grow, the scars
remain as ugly tons of stark, bare, yellow rock along the roadside. </span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What
must be said though is that the people seem really nice and friendly,
not only the ones who give oranges. Those whom we have encountered
today speak English, and are both charming and friendly. It's made me
lazy, and I'm hardly even even bothering to try with the language
now, though Ian is persevering. I think if this was my island home I
would resent such an overwhelming invasion by tourists from all
countries of the world, though predominantly English and German.
However they are definitely the most profitable crop; even the
ubiquitous olive must be a poor runner-up. </span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday
24 May 2001</b></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There
was a breeze this morning and the weather was much fresher, thank
heavens, although there is still bright sunshine. After a patio
breakfast of yoghurt with Cretan honey, sitting in the sunshine
beneath our peach tree, overlooking the little olive grove and
swimming pool with the blue Mediterranean Sea beyond, we took the new
road to Iraklion, where the traffic got steadily busier as we
approached the town. We turned off, and made our way through the
suburbs to Knossos. Despite the site being packed with tourists from
around the world, it is surprisingly large, and absorbed everyone
comfortably. It is laid out covering several acres, surrounded by
barren hills, an impressive site of the Minoan civilisation. It was
discovered and extensively restored by Sir Arthur Evans and remains
the island's most important site, although many of its artefacts are
now either in the museum in Iraklion or in the Ashmolean Museum in
Oxford. We seem to have some vague recollection that Sir Arthur Evans
had connections with Boars Hill near Oxford. Its main period of
cultural activity was from 1700 to 1450 BCE, and it was destroyed by
fire around 1400 BCE. It was an enormous centre of culture and,
together with the town that developed around the palace, some 100,000
people are thought to have occupied the site - about the size of
Exeter today. </span></span>
</p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkXLtXHEDtnoGrqntsEubSKKDh1Q32mdyoXdBoNHvpE-f30UByDGvQZQmwfNDGMeA9oi0NHaLnNQVASkmuyL8V2JfWCUrKTpaPCS0fYKCxsrJUoXJwb81jYvBluJ3iOTy5SFxCpUiM0BH-pZ5QcHwMFEFHzXUpwjXSCUeTHRyAo9wqMVOsQ/s1280/720-07-Knossos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkXLtXHEDtnoGrqntsEubSKKDh1Q32mdyoXdBoNHvpE-f30UByDGvQZQmwfNDGMeA9oi0NHaLnNQVASkmuyL8V2JfWCUrKTpaPCS0fYKCxsrJUoXJwb81jYvBluJ3iOTy5SFxCpUiM0BH-pZ5QcHwMFEFHzXUpwjXSCUeTHRyAo9wqMVOsQ/s320/720-07-Knossos.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Knossos, throne roon</i></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dwCh20hYtv5odCcRd4S0RAla6jrwB9hK9OlIMivRbkQ-jXiRt5fPQbTNWzY201Hzo7Ou_YTpaXkG7-kVZlXSfj47Eh1yI2FJI2uMCP_sx6P7QZsjlIHRbpxyFY8VeWIYzD3s53bt-P7z6YTxVMwMuiDR5DG6tM5RD9izGbWBTtvXdkBOSQ/s1280/720-08-Knossos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1280" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dwCh20hYtv5odCcRd4S0RAla6jrwB9hK9OlIMivRbkQ-jXiRt5fPQbTNWzY201Hzo7Ou_YTpaXkG7-kVZlXSfj47Eh1yI2FJI2uMCP_sx6P7QZsjlIHRbpxyFY8VeWIYzD3s53bt-P7z6YTxVMwMuiDR5DG6tM5RD9izGbWBTtvXdkBOSQ/s320/720-08-Knossos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Knossos</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCr6uIEknzqzi4f-XCFFLJLQnoTKdzXzRKRSAUqAtsg3gyzvWOdl5W42cBgbmmtDTKrQwFyA2USgR22EP8I3cKlS8BW3mlmE5crVTLVNFuG1eetG9AJzfEfVNl40CIbWj6-9_D7hzXWVb8o91poN1VLEcDJ7gv8bj9m6i5kiRmvR5Ec_Izw/s1280/720-09-Knossos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCr6uIEknzqzi4f-XCFFLJLQnoTKdzXzRKRSAUqAtsg3gyzvWOdl5W42cBgbmmtDTKrQwFyA2USgR22EP8I3cKlS8BW3mlmE5crVTLVNFuG1eetG9AJzfEfVNl40CIbWj6-9_D7hzXWVb8o91poN1VLEcDJ7gv8bj9m6i5kiRmvR5Ec_Izw/s320/720-09-Knossos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Knossos, dolphin fresco</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-K-rXkcn8-Kli1Ow5KnpjXWcwkQCkL_sV47ohv_ZBGmX6dXgv3DUpvjLlFl3zbQUoKfNQRGmtr3YxUOiP71FSBtszWeXhsTFd_kKaerSbs1PaqaNjxDBqA4G6dZbxpKLRFg8eohYtm6n0U5x7_knmikMBjYkLIcgg_QoyFCF3l_E-Xpqsw/s1280/720-10-Knossos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-K-rXkcn8-Kli1Ow5KnpjXWcwkQCkL_sV47ohv_ZBGmX6dXgv3DUpvjLlFl3zbQUoKfNQRGmtr3YxUOiP71FSBtszWeXhsTFd_kKaerSbs1PaqaNjxDBqA4G6dZbxpKLRFg8eohYtm6n0U5x7_knmikMBjYkLIcgg_QoyFCF3l_E-Xpqsw/s320/720-10-Knossos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Knossos</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3iaF1s1VM1MqjTnqL5XRWEC0JwEkJTQQuH-HqV4ZZhk3635JFNumvtkvqccIijUYzR1hTkmVsXUJkC5xu5iYeYkave99-W9vp_9V8oQr-AuyJNAJhDu7qP3-NKoy6ouxC0ixStNel1J63ZioMmipAN8JT_np4h_-u_W2zvyAXAP-0Vcm1A/s1280/720-11-Knossos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="844" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3iaF1s1VM1MqjTnqL5XRWEC0JwEkJTQQuH-HqV4ZZhk3635JFNumvtkvqccIijUYzR1hTkmVsXUJkC5xu5iYeYkave99-W9vp_9V8oQr-AuyJNAJhDu7qP3-NKoy6ouxC0ixStNel1J63ZioMmipAN8JT_np4h_-u_W2zvyAXAP-0Vcm1A/w135-h205/720-11-Knossos.JPG" width="135" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnsCNUJnT43D6IkvXAn_OBQgKSjKtE4C18JjWDLc4XkhHnrz-k1MQuPsABvSQbMTbsXvv3Krsh5Irv7a0wgWFmLixBk45jbplqXoXNu40tygPRr7pCEtOK7CvGQloFm0YTVJJRJnHbJWadUy8FfAnrX0xYUCiq7FXxl2q0tUsid0aKp8vePA/s1280/720-12-Knossos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnsCNUJnT43D6IkvXAn_OBQgKSjKtE4C18JjWDLc4XkhHnrz-k1MQuPsABvSQbMTbsXvv3Krsh5Irv7a0wgWFmLixBk45jbplqXoXNu40tygPRr7pCEtOK7CvGQloFm0YTVJJRJnHbJWadUy8FfAnrX0xYUCiq7FXxl2q0tUsid0aKp8vePA/w153-h204/720-12-Knossos.JPG" width="153" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Knossos, stairway and storage room </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEG1oe2TIhIXn0a03WbqRC6rgLk-0mkJ14634gteb9SyJ9FvQ8PENG0etfb6_O-6WVRqoTOIw83NFjMvSIJ5ayl7RHfBiZrDOQAuHdwdpuh4abUL5Soz412ndE3dhOhEIxpkkna7MatadGxWRd3yUgqWDZwPDuf8KGvLUa-2E_fuhH1Lk0pA/s1280/720-13-Knossos.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEG1oe2TIhIXn0a03WbqRC6rgLk-0mkJ14634gteb9SyJ9FvQ8PENG0etfb6_O-6WVRqoTOIw83NFjMvSIJ5ayl7RHfBiZrDOQAuHdwdpuh4abUL5Soz412ndE3dhOhEIxpkkna7MatadGxWRd3yUgqWDZwPDuf8KGvLUa-2E_fuhH1Lk0pA/s320/720-13-Knossos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Knossos</i></div></span><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Much
has been reconstructed from scant remains and I have to confess that,
from a distance, the shell of the city with its cement
reconstructions and ruined chambers make it look remarkably like
Kosovo or some war damaged town of Central Europe today. Everywhere
is dry and dusty, exposed to the sun. A few citrus and olive trees
provide a little shade at the edge of the site. There are some
facsimiles of wall frescoes, the originals having been removed to the
museum in Iraklion. The city seems to have had a sophisticated
drainage and plumbing system which can still be seen today; it seems
little progress has been made on the island since the fall of Knossos
on that front at least!</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our
visit lasted several hours, but with a gentle breeze, sun hats and
sunglasses, it was quite bearable and very interesting. I was
surprised how very substantial the walls were. They appear to be
constructed primarily from local limestone but they were bright white
stones here and there of rough alabaster topped with jagged crystals.
There were also whole slabs of tightly packed crystals,
which I presume to be gypsum, except that is a soft stone. Ian said
it is easy to imagine that the palace of Knossos is actually the
labyrinth in which a ceremonial bull was kept chained, the origin of the
legend of the Minotaur living on the human flesh of those that got
lost in the labyrinth. Personally I'm not convinced; I wish I could
remember more about Mary Renault's book <i>The king must die</i>. The
central courtyard of Knossos is though to have been where the bull
dancing took place, with the athletes being tossed between the horns
of the sacred ball to somersault lightly from its back. The bull
figures very highly in Minoan culture. We left the site and lunched
in a taverna on the main street with a delightful young waitress who
spoke excellent English while her mother did all the cooking. I had
moussaka and salad while Ian had stuffed tomatoes, peppers and vine
leaves. It came to around £8 for two with drinks and we felt really
full afterwards.</span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
continued along the road </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eyond
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Knos</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sos.
It soon emptied out and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rose
in </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
series of bends up into the surrounding </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ills
with views down onto a fascinating landscape of olive trees and vines
showing green against the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hite
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">bare</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
soil beneath, forming an intriguing patchwork in green and white. No
other colours exist</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
We went on through a pleasant countryside through little, crumbling
villages with ladies dressed </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">entirel</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
in black, including headscarves, sometimes bent double, looking very
aged and talking to neighbours on b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">enche</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
by the roadside. Small groups of elderly </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">illage
men </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sat</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
smoking or drinking in the shade, against the wall of their home, or
under an olive tree on the dusty </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oadside.
Some played backgammon or sat swinging their worry beads. Everywhere
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wer</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
tiny cats and even tinier kittens. Beneath the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">each
or orange trees in the roadside </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rchards, ch</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">icken</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
scratch</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are
ea</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rth
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">for</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
anything they could find to eat. </span></span></span></span></span> </span></span>
</p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeGCXG-BBBn34I-v5Wo8bs5fllBZdHO1m-usfbhu1Ve4MbBroCc2c6-qUh53OP_3Rqz7Yd7RxeoAYo8WTbC4YCfKxWKqwKaBVH2S5qvxixXOuJeO-GzEflJbhdRQJIByidz9oT2svY9d-QXvawuVGujBf1adIeWLgqIMDQAsDsgq4x4d_1A/s1280/720-14-Kalloni.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeGCXG-BBBn34I-v5Wo8bs5fllBZdHO1m-usfbhu1Ve4MbBroCc2c6-qUh53OP_3Rqz7Yd7RxeoAYo8WTbC4YCfKxWKqwKaBVH2S5qvxixXOuJeO-GzEflJbhdRQJIByidz9oT2svY9d-QXvawuVGujBf1adIeWLgqIMDQAsDsgq4x4d_1A/s320/720-14-Kalloni.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>View near Kalloni</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Eventually
we arrived at </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>K</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>astelli
where we parked and walked around the white, dusty streets of
crumbling dilapidated buildings, and this was a larger, more affluent
place th</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>an</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
most we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d
seen. There are actually some quite smart little shops among the
general dilapidation. Several shops s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ol</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d
dried chickpeas, peanuts and walnuts, along with cut glass figurines
and china ornaments. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>T</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>here
were two shoe shops, a baker’s, several mini supermarkets, and a
couple of clothes shops. We bought wine and yoghurt from a nice man
in one of these shops. He spoke no English, and we felt sad </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>tha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t
we were getting so little from the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ncounter.
All we must</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ered
in </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Greek
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>was</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
“thank you” and “goodbye”. In France, in a similar situation,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>we</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
would have had a long chat.</span></span></span></span></span></div></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
discovered a few miles further on </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wayside shrine dedicated to s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aints</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Damian and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">K</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">osmos
with votive candles flickering and a little a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ltar</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
with Greek icons of the two </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aints.
The site overlooked a small </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">avine
with views to the mountains rising </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eyond,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
pleasant place to linger with nobody else around. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Then
eventually we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">reached
Hersonisso</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
where we parked on the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">dge
of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">own
and w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ndered
along the main street with its </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">j</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ewellers,
amusement centres, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">fa</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">st
food stores, car and scooter hire companies. It was noisy, brash, and
thro</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ng</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ing
with tourists of all nationalities. All the signs are in English,
German or Dutch; </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">here
was no sign of the Greek alphabet anywhere. However the atmosphere
struc</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">k
us</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
as pleasant and friendly - if you like that sort of thing. A total
contrast the li</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">fe</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
up in the villages behind. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
seafront is nothing but restaurants. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ere
the custom is to have </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tou</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ts
outside each one, trying to get you to eat in their restaurant. It </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
quite bullying and very alien to our traditional way of thinking. The
sea was surprisingly rough, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a small, sandy </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">each.
After pottering for an hour, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
decided to head for our apartment. Once there I had a swim in the deserted pool
while </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
prepared a salad and taramasalata on Greek bread, to eat with red
wine on the patio. I then shared the shower unwittingly with a </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">three
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ch</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
millipede, wh</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ich</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
proved </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">it</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">self
an excellent swimmer. Then a pleasant evening chatting and drinking
red wine on the patio. I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
now midnight and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ian</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
has gone to bed. I think I'll follow. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Friday
25 May </span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">2001</span></span></span></span></b></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
weather was cooler still today, overcast and grey but still
comfortable, and more to our liking. After our usual breakfast on the
patio </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
yoghurt, honey </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
bananas grown in greenhouses at Malia a few miles east of here, we
set off to visit the palace at Malia. This is beautifully set with
views of the sea to the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">orth
and the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">D</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ikt</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ia</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">M</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ountains,
dark and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ari</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d,
to the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">outh.
Here there have been no reconstructions like a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t
Knossos, and e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">xcavation</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
seem to have been conducted by French archaeologists. The site is
wonderful, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">far</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
nicer than </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Knosso</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s,
al</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">though</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
smaller. What you see is what was found </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and,
h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aving
s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">een
Knosso</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s, it was easier than it would have been otherwise to interpret.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9P1C2QzNjUutRnOqLsk58zdn7YFMaWjEFFV5lvGSZP9ees9_4mBFMUT3X-0atUMTy7nj1o4HIpE3PCKvtg-7AkYyLflQUWZm2vaR1pMZDuNuPSjhRoYW_OvjUPtBOKXpZPw63jNBKTKhlcs5IHfRPAqAp27J25_CMzze3ZljKWTy1t5N2A/s1280/720-15-Malia.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9P1C2QzNjUutRnOqLsk58zdn7YFMaWjEFFV5lvGSZP9ees9_4mBFMUT3X-0atUMTy7nj1o4HIpE3PCKvtg-7AkYyLflQUWZm2vaR1pMZDuNuPSjhRoYW_OvjUPtBOKXpZPw63jNBKTKhlcs5IHfRPAqAp27J25_CMzze3ZljKWTy1t5N2A/s320/720-15-Malia.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Malia</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqvJ7mTB2FWCsx0QdFFtqlCmHQNdnM4FP0tld0Qfzcw2c1KConDKBiME4jRDggg7WriMlTGxP4mfYJeAe8G0FlvA_fL6smqGM89cYi31v6gxgpgKzJpqVvA3UIKfEFGPRLj6e-pwuDBQEQCXuoqzUAt0npuAvhQTkjgEPbewqbkyzxGjJ3Q/s1280/720-16-Malia.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqvJ7mTB2FWCsx0QdFFtqlCmHQNdnM4FP0tld0Qfzcw2c1KConDKBiME4jRDggg7WriMlTGxP4mfYJeAe8G0FlvA_fL6smqGM89cYi31v6gxgpgKzJpqVvA3UIKfEFGPRLj6e-pwuDBQEQCXuoqzUAt0npuAvhQTkjgEPbewqbkyzxGjJ3Q/s320/720-16-Malia.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Malia</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyF8bJ2MMfls5hZh1RNZOxjhQ0r8atWhhuItfAoT4qyVSgVLsZkB0fkr8fbTLkdDbd6ApNS4yisHUYh7odrTToxHWLu31iiMWgJUikZozjKlRtVSsBmC86jEqty-hJWMUytntQPOZyLswihZDVHb_k2ezfCM3k7SUs6jJ8XQKLrT4c-WNMYw/s1280/720-17-Malia.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyF8bJ2MMfls5hZh1RNZOxjhQ0r8atWhhuItfAoT4qyVSgVLsZkB0fkr8fbTLkdDbd6ApNS4yisHUYh7odrTToxHWLu31iiMWgJUikZozjKlRtVSsBmC86jEqty-hJWMUytntQPOZyLswihZDVHb_k2ezfCM3k7SUs6jJ8XQKLrT4c-WNMYw/s320/720-17-Malia.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Malia</i></div><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>I must confess that much was difficult to disentangle, although Ian</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
seem to understand and enjoy it greatly. I found myself interested in
the scru</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>bb</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>y
plants, with</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ered</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
grasses and magnificent thistle</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
surrounding the site. Olive and citrus trees </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>lined</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
the fringes, and a huge </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>amarisk
gave shelter from the sun, when it </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>chose</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
to emerge, at the entrance to the side. One thing that </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>as
struck me is the number of birds in Crete. There is a perpetual
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>cacophony</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ound
a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s
they flit among the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
olive trees. There appear to be varieties of sparrows and buntings </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>as
well a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>irds
about the size of a thrush with a feathered </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>crest</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>.
It is very pleasant that, no matter where you are, there is birdsong.
On the other hand I </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ve
been surprised that the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>re</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
do not appear to be lizards or even snakes. Everywhere in </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>outhern
Italy and Corsica </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>we
saw</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
lizards, and I expected the same here, scuttling a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>mongst</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
the ancient walls, but there was nothing. Ian rounded off </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>his</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
visit in style, using the ladies’ </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>loo</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>,
not realising </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>they
were</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
not unisex, and having </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
misfortune to open the door </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>(not
all toilet</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
doors </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>have</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
lock</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
in Cre</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>te)</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
on a lady. We decided to move on quickly before they took him off in
a van to a Greek funny </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>arm.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUIoEV7-wm-ifijKqAgeksOMt56tspyhk-Pc8d1qRKVrzRk9vIDtWqV2MgZ7lBnAruY8bwdPrPWAiyjNXzJNQnPr5xnnsnXZc4Vgk6Hq-Yjzb3A1SdV7ppNOiEyG2v_FRx-AJeyQ0HTPKuCNsv0mb0LZFHfE41BtyGYdEEyWUL9y8m_vj1BQ/s1280/720-23-Panagia-Kera.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUIoEV7-wm-ifijKqAgeksOMt56tspyhk-Pc8d1qRKVrzRk9vIDtWqV2MgZ7lBnAruY8bwdPrPWAiyjNXzJNQnPr5xnnsnXZc4Vgk6Hq-Yjzb3A1SdV7ppNOiEyG2v_FRx-AJeyQ0HTPKuCNsv0mb0LZFHfE41BtyGYdEEyWUL9y8m_vj1BQ/s320/720-23-Panagia-Kera.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><i>Panagia Kera, Kritsa</i></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>We
decided to go to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Kritsa,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>where
we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>had
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>read
there is a little church with the best frescoes in Cre</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>te</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>.
However when </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>we</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
arrived they </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>had
hidden it</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
so well </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>that,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
by the time we discovered it, i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t
was</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
closed. We </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>admired</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
it</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
setting and its simple white-washed exterior, and lamented missing
the treasures within.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Kritsia</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
is a rather pleasant little town, if </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>somewhat</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
commercialised. We park</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
below the town and made our way up past shops with open </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>fronts,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
selling local handicrafts: leather goods, sandals, lace, embroidered
table linen, rugs and carpets, and much besides. There was also </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
range of restaurants so, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>our
effort</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s
to find a little church actually benefited us as we plunged into side
alleys of</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>f
t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>he
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ourist
track and found ourselves in a labyrinth of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>n</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>arrow
passageways flanked by white-washed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
flat roofed houses in various stages of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ecay
and dilapidation. On a bench an elderly lady dressed </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>entirely
in</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
black was making lace.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>A
little tourist family stopped to look and admire her work. As they
moved on she looked after them with an expression of total contempt
on her face. I </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>was</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
sorry and sad that she should feel like that </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>as
t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>he
family has seemed so nice. I suppose in some ways it </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s
understandable but really I </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>woul</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d
rather not be in a country where people felt like that about me.
However she was probably an exception, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
we later passed a genial face man </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>aged
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>around
70. Being polite, we said “y</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>asso</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s”
which we assume means “hello”. He b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>eamed
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>at
us, correct</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed
our</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
pronunciation, and asked where we came from. We said “anglik</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>i”,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
meaning we were English. Again he beamed, and with signs and rubbing
his index fingers together, said in Greek “Greek English army”
signifying that we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ought
side-by-side in the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ar.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>e
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>too
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>indicated
th</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>at</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
Germans w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ere</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
not good. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>It
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>is
such a pity they cannot forgive modern Germans for the past and po</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>u</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>r
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>unearned</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
credit on us. Maybe that's what makes them so forgiving to the
British lager louts in Malia every evening; that </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s
more what we British </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>are</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
like nowadays. Then we discovered the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>own
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>hurch,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>high</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
up on a promontory reach</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
by steep steps down from the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ld
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>own’</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
passageways. From the little </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>quare
to the right </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>there
are views</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
down over Agios Nikolaos and the Bay of Mirabella with the island of
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Psi</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ra
out in the bay. The lady came to tend the candles as we stood
outside, so she unlocked </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>the
church </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>and
let us in. It was a dazzling ornate spectacle of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>three</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
gold coloured chandeliers with painted icons of saints all around,
suspended by huge cha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ins</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
from the ceiling. There were many clearly depicted Greek icons of the
various </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>aints.
The church seems to be dedicated to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>S</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t
George, with an icon of him </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>laying
the dragon painted on wood, very much decayed and surrounded by white
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ibbons
and bows. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>The
were a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>lso
a number of more recent copies hanging in the church. It was </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>all
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>very
opulent and heavy, but very much an example of a typical Greek
Orthodox Church.</span></span></span></span></span></p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span><p></p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
descended to the town again and stop</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ped
for</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
lunch on a terrace overlooking the nearby mountain with its rocks and
scrubby bushes. On the roof of the building opposite the restaurant
an </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lsatian
dog ran back and forth along the parapet, looking down into the
street below. It did </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">de</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">tract
somewhat from our enjoyment of our meal, as at every moment </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
expected him to fall. Needless to say he didn't, but it </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
a strange way to keep a dog, lock</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
out on the roof.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e
the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
drove </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">three
kilometers</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
along a little </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oad
through olive </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">g</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">roves,
irrigated by hoses run from a central standpipe by the roadside.
Elderly ladies in black </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">acked
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the dried earth beneath the trees with mattocks, and donkeys </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">stoo</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">p</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">atiently
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">w</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">aiting,
wearing heavy wooden saddles. At one point </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we
passed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
such a lady, riding her donkey with a big </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ale
of grass </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">stacked
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">up
behind her. Seen against the backdrop of the b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
mountains it was something from another world - or perhaps it's us
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">who
are</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
from another world. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Can
we be in the 21</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><sup><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">st</span></span></span></sup></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
century?</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">E</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ventually
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">round</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a bend and had a spectacular view down into the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kritsa
r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">avine
with the mountains rising all around in awesome grandeur. Beyond us
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">la</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">y
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
archaeological site of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Lato</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
The gates were barred as </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
guardian went home at </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">three
in the afternoon</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
It </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">efinite</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ly
be</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">en</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
wor</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">th</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the drive for the truly magnificent view, and what a site for a
settlement! As nobody was looking at the time, we climbed over the
wall and quickly disappeared inside </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">among</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> the ruins which </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sp</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">read
back </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">st</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eeply
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">up</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the hillside in a series of terraces. This civilisation was later
than tha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n
the Minoa</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ns,
being Doric, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">dating
from</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
around 700 to 400 BC</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">E</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
The site was breathtaking in the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">beauty
of its</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
setting and the skill with which </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
inhabitants had</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
created a large settlement on the saddle between the two peaks of the
mountains, surrounded on one side by </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">he
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">owering
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">eights
of the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Diktian
r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ange
and on the other with views down over </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Agia</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Ni</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">k</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ola</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
and the sea beyond. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">H</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ow
though could </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hey
have survived such </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">an
inhospitable location; </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">no
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lan</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to grow produce or keep animals, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">everywhere</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
totally </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">barre</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">n,
dry and arid? </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">here
did they obtain water? We lingered longer than we should, reluctant
to leave such a pleasant </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
interesting </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">place</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0fGPlQSQFRjd7tMF353-bhu9UvZHstjqyP3TeML48FvCvCq1vWYLsWBvyDzPuWLDnKiQKMFt9raqt1ekYTRR40G7aynC2BTEJWME9Y5C2fJyPL0p6wcFTxqmw1KYwh-Nm7Zk61TPr_TAP3Ben7IMK39J2XSgri933RToUx4zc1R1_CMMqw/s1280/720-18-Lato.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0fGPlQSQFRjd7tMF353-bhu9UvZHstjqyP3TeML48FvCvCq1vWYLsWBvyDzPuWLDnKiQKMFt9raqt1ekYTRR40G7aynC2BTEJWME9Y5C2fJyPL0p6wcFTxqmw1KYwh-Nm7Zk61TPr_TAP3Ben7IMK39J2XSgri933RToUx4zc1R1_CMMqw/s320/720-18-Lato.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>View from Lato</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGk3O6OEJGGF1YSWYTx5Ie9rbOzCDKQ_RhwfighFFZLVz6U8_af0GlOX5p5ujfxUGiMSANWjeNW986NCeIMGvmyqfZzq_yIaRyZLILx4dsY77ro2jhIp333f8UgqQ7K_pWVFvowaNUfF25Dz_sW1iJf66wsHCiwuizzo7Jr0kSNQTnKq5PjQ/s1280/720-19-Lato.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGk3O6OEJGGF1YSWYTx5Ie9rbOzCDKQ_RhwfighFFZLVz6U8_af0GlOX5p5ujfxUGiMSANWjeNW986NCeIMGvmyqfZzq_yIaRyZLILx4dsY77ro2jhIp333f8UgqQ7K_pWVFvowaNUfF25Dz_sW1iJf66wsHCiwuizzo7Jr0kSNQTnKq5PjQ/s320/720-19-Lato.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lato</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SBNI36WtrSlIg8-lePSyTiFoljpckLJYZ8IS6Pn-tMQcCHwj-7Db7Q7Ys1I9nIyV7So99k04wQUtO6VgBbBsFiCAVdRNsgwVFxQ71KSVIWkZ_EbLzZTQqaw9F7ATtJF6S-CNTzVHEYrGJiabgZznPI-om1KZkzgxGn4hFlB2AN9j0FaJfA/s1280/720-20-Lato.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SBNI36WtrSlIg8-lePSyTiFoljpckLJYZ8IS6Pn-tMQcCHwj-7Db7Q7Ys1I9nIyV7So99k04wQUtO6VgBbBsFiCAVdRNsgwVFxQ71KSVIWkZ_EbLzZTQqaw9F7ATtJF6S-CNTzVHEYrGJiabgZznPI-om1KZkzgxGn4hFlB2AN9j0FaJfA/s320/720-20-Lato.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lato</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPy28yA12h4yOMsY438MPD6gn1Iuna-92-_sSUo1sfYp_MISNW33f7bbEwKcBEFLut3jQCayhOXndj2e2uIn3bZ-QLxW3hE_NaxIKBMDjrBbhODzWWm3jftw-xLob15cHoXTfB_3wgrecqqL04uaXQsXztvAvRlilgUR6snmWbmPEQ0J2D_g/s1280/720-21-Lato.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPy28yA12h4yOMsY438MPD6gn1Iuna-92-_sSUo1sfYp_MISNW33f7bbEwKcBEFLut3jQCayhOXndj2e2uIn3bZ-QLxW3hE_NaxIKBMDjrBbhODzWWm3jftw-xLob15cHoXTfB_3wgrecqqL04uaXQsXztvAvRlilgUR6snmWbmPEQ0J2D_g/s320/720-21-Lato.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lato</i></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On
the hillside opposite we watched </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
car, tiny as a </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">D</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">inky
model, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">dge
cautiously along a narrow track abo</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ve</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">avine
with </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
sheer drop down. It took 20 minutes to edge along and negotiate the
twists and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">urns
of a steep descent into the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">v</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">alley
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the further end. On one occasion </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we
saw</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a car trying to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">scend
from the further end, and sat watching from our vantage point on the
other side of the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">avine,
waiting to see them </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">mee</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t.
However the ascent pro</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ved</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
too </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">steep,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and the vehicle was forced to descend backwards all the way down
before it could turn. Th</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
the other vehicle never knew how it missed the disastrous encounter.</span></span></span></span></span>
</span></span>
</p>
<p align="justify" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.3cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_U1Asx-m20seTdyhCD6Mahxk71smLqCehiKtqkMF4CfhGMMtETvIZobJwhw5DIxTqx84P76ENf59rDGg_MYmp6JVa7U6P_m4zkpxMbUswczAk1fLEVD4rr4ybs5lbfBhUE0eRT2Eg3kmhBG8Pttb0nKIgLI8vV8qoGZIQ6lO178lWhDw2w/s1280/720-22-Kritsa-Gorge.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_U1Asx-m20seTdyhCD6Mahxk71smLqCehiKtqkMF4CfhGMMtETvIZobJwhw5DIxTqx84P76ENf59rDGg_MYmp6JVa7U6P_m4zkpxMbUswczAk1fLEVD4rr4ybs5lbfBhUE0eRT2Eg3kmhBG8Pttb0nKIgLI8vV8qoGZIQ6lO178lWhDw2w/s320/720-22-Kritsa-Gorge.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i>Entrance to Kritsa Gorge</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>We
return</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
towards </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>K</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ritsa
but stopped by a dried-up river bed to follow on foot a little path
leading into the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>r</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>avine.
It look</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
most impressive but </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>would
have </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>aken</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
several hours to do, so we just went to the start to look </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>down
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>into
it. W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>e
then</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
cross</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>pebbly</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>river
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>bed
and struggle</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>d</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
steeply </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>up</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
the hillside along narrow stony path</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
flanked by dry stone walls surrounding </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>he
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>g</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>roves
of olives and almonds. These were obviously service tracks, wide
enough for a </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>l</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>aden
donkey. Eventually we emerged in a little </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>v</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>illage
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>treet
on the outskirts of </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>K</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>ritsa,
where </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>hildren
played skipping games in the road or sat on the ground chatting to
each other as tiny cats </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>eyed
us </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>mis</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>rustfully.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>We
followed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
round and down, and eventually discovered where we </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>had
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>left
our car. On the way home, we finally discovered the church we gone to
see, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>oo
late </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>as
it had </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>long
since </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>been
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>locked
for the day. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>W</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>e
also stopped to admire </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a
view</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
down over Agia Nicola</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>s
and the bay. On the roadside was a little shrine with an icon of St
George fighting the dragon and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
dish of burning oil </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>with
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>little
candle flames flickering in the early evening dusk. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>Then back along
straight fast roads, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>and</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
40 minutes later I was in the pool swimming 20 lengths before supper.
Nobody else was that keen, so I had the pool to myself. The rest of
the evening has been spent as usual, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
delightful ha</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>it,
with salad and Greek bread and wine, chatting and writing this diary
with the sound of cicadas and the smell of geraniums. In the gardens
here I've seen all these trees plus others I cannot identify: peach,
almond, olive, citrus, f</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>i</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>r,
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>t</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>amarisk
and carob. It's getting chill</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>y,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><span>
and has gone 11 p.m. So I'll leave the cicadas to their singing and
retire to my concrete bed.</span></span></span></span></span></div></span><p></p><br /><p></p>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-81611966213865542862023-01-20T16:03:00.001+00:002023-01-20T16:03:55.564+00:00Mallorca 2003. Deluge the third.<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times;">Thursday 16th October 2003 10 p.m.</span></b></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">As
usual after a busy day, I'm really too tired to write about our
activities, particularly as we've just returned from a huge meal in
the Bierkeller an der Ecke. The food, service and beer were excellent
but nothing very German about it. Unfortunately before we went we
tried out a bottle of Mallorcan wine we finally managed to find. It
was 13% proof, rather nice, and very heavy on an empty stomach.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">All
last night the storm raged and today showed little sign of abating,
so we decided to ignore it. It was our last day with the little hired
Opel car, so we set off cross-country from here to Valldemossa, the
little town in the hills not far from Soller where George Sand and
Frederic Chopin spent the winter of 1838-39 for the sake of Chopin's
health and avoid the scandal their relationship was causing at the
time in France. The Monastery had originally been occupied by the
Carthusian order of monks, but the monasteries were all dissolved
throughout Spain in 1835 by Mendizabal's Law of Disentailment.
Following this the cells were let out to private individuals and
George Sand and Frederick Chopin occupied several to form a suite of
rooms with beautiful gardens overlooking the little town of
Valldemosa as it clung to the steep mountainside. While there, George
Sand wrote a scathing attack on the local people and an account of
their experiences in her book <i>Un hiver </i><i>à Majorque</i>.
Chopin meanwhile fretted for the arrival of his piano. Only a few
weeks before the couple returned to Paris did it finally arrive.
Nevertheless the most outstanding of his achievements for me appears
have been the composition of his “Raindrops prelude”. Had he
stayed longer, who knows, he may have given to the world “Noah's
Fludde” long before the idea came to Benjamin Britten. Certainly it
would have been most appropriate for us in Mallorca today!</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">As
we drove cross-country a beautiful bright rainbow arched down from
the mountains to form a shimmering haze of glorious colour in a
nearby orchard, while the mountains loomed as a black, forbidding,
hazy mass against the rain-filled leaden sky behind. We drove up the
twisting but well-constructed route in the pouring rain into the
misty, sodden town. Because of the weather there were not many
tourists, so parking was easy.
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">In
summer Ian hides his feet away in thick socks and trainers. Today he
decided bare feet and sandals would be more suitable, so he waded
through the torrents erupting in the streets to flow downhill to form
floods and unexpected lakes in any hollow they encountered. Our
kagouls streaming water, we made directly for the Monastery and were
very happy to pass the morning visiting the various cells and
exhibitions there, in addition to seeing the former apartments of
George Sand and Frederic Chopin. One cell is still set up as a
pharmacy full of beautiful old majolica pots and phials, where it
continued to serve the local community until the late 19th century.
One cell housed the library, where the monks could meet once a week
to talk to each other - the rest of the time they were a silent
order. There was also the municipal museum with the printing press
and a collection of artworks of local painters and scenes. Upstairs
from the library is a gallery of modern art with some very acceptable
works displayed, including an exhibition of the lithographic works of
the artist Joan Miro, a contemporary of Picasso. This area proved far
more interesting than I could have expected.
</span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRv9ANWrcoU2Yudg26l1RCjFRW6QgIdIoGAlm4CjL0OfD9r4IZS7zJXG_tqVi_ErTCLAV6kkcEle_P_zOY9vK4n1bhaAcmQ6OHF2waQfEzl4K_s7u-TpUNlUeQ1FBWIgaei7m5NL3mD2qFpSU6GRAV3s1yvITdagYo2p-ftEU5kDtysRM9jg/s1280/910-A22-Valldemosa.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1280" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRv9ANWrcoU2Yudg26l1RCjFRW6QgIdIoGAlm4CjL0OfD9r4IZS7zJXG_tqVi_ErTCLAV6kkcEle_P_zOY9vK4n1bhaAcmQ6OHF2waQfEzl4K_s7u-TpUNlUeQ1FBWIgaei7m5NL3mD2qFpSU6GRAV3s1yvITdagYo2p-ftEU5kDtysRM9jg/s320/910-A22-Valldemosa.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Valldemossa. High Altar, Prior's cell and Chopin's cell.</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tzozOtai1FH3nHB7d6mS-8Cyi9uT46uzg08q2EquLnoC_k29VeIvkw59N_7uh4vJWoAv21qV688wXn_bWXox6PZTHSOXhjBwRiWi_yKGi8cz1kJ2X8QtypynRBU0wXPTIXHqkvD4CPzt8f0ampY2uNPC6aCfJaDGLyqlPU3Plv4WTaKQ3A/s1280/910-A23-Valldemosa.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tzozOtai1FH3nHB7d6mS-8Cyi9uT46uzg08q2EquLnoC_k29VeIvkw59N_7uh4vJWoAv21qV688wXn_bWXox6PZTHSOXhjBwRiWi_yKGi8cz1kJ2X8QtypynRBU0wXPTIXHqkvD4CPzt8f0ampY2uNPC6aCfJaDGLyqlPU3Plv4WTaKQ3A/s320/910-A23-Valldemosa.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Valldemossa.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLn_fBATLsXMjBn-aWPJl4nd1JcTSEwqsqJMwwwa7PUO3fw_jDXB0HaOPB2-rsW26SNhq-2KLTO8VbsEmhM9OdruHt-cFhGIvzP2xs6i2SnaLzuv6PRPEj4C2OJaAYq0kZ2KpKOV7euPPbEoAZcIVXPH9fxZXnnpE60OgRHOtJHtpapU7ghg/s1280/910-A24-Valldemosa.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="907" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLn_fBATLsXMjBn-aWPJl4nd1JcTSEwqsqJMwwwa7PUO3fw_jDXB0HaOPB2-rsW26SNhq-2KLTO8VbsEmhM9OdruHt-cFhGIvzP2xs6i2SnaLzuv6PRPEj4C2OJaAYq0kZ2KpKOV7euPPbEoAZcIVXPH9fxZXnnpE60OgRHOtJHtpapU7ghg/s320/910-A24-Valldemosa.JPG" width="227" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Valldemossa.</span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Ian
was particularly interested in the Guasp Printing Museum. This press
was active from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Exhibited was their
17th century printing press and some of the 1500 wood blocks giving
an excellent overview of iconography from the 16th to 19th centuries.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">We
moved on to the palace of Sancho, King of Majorca 1311-1324. He was
an asthmatic who constructed his palace in the mountains because he
felt the air would benefit him. After the kingdom of Majorca was
taken over by the kingdom of Aragon the palace passed into the hands
of the religious order of the Carthusians (Chartreuses in French).
The palace has been greatly rebuilt, but retains something of an
Arabic feel. This too was let out to private individuals after 1835,
so the furnishings reflect the rich cluttered interiors of the
period.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">In
the former old church of the Monastery we were able to enjoy a
display of Mallorcan folk dancing in traditional costume with
castanets, guitar, and piccolo, an unexpected and very enjoyable
interlude.
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">So a
couple of hours later we again found ourselves back on the
rain-soaked streets of the pretty old town. It was however far too
wet to wander around the neat, clean, narrow streets. Our feet were
soaked, our kagouls clinging to us, water streamed from them down our
trousers. We were freezing cold, wet through and Ian had developed a
cold. The average rainfall in Mallorca in October is six days in the
month; we have only been here for five and in that time we've had
seven or eight days worth of rain. Ian was in no mood to choose
somewhere for lunch, and dived into the first place he saw. The
tables were already full of steaming tourists but it was warm and
pleasant. We ordered ham rolls and hot coffee. As the rain rolled
down the steamed-up windows, we wrapped ourselves up and read the
local paper. Despite George Sand writing quite scathingly about the
local people, referring to them as monkeys, robbers and villains,
they seem very happy to claim her for themselves, and are holding a
special exhibition in Palma to celebrate her bicentenary in 2004.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Ian
read his book on Mallorcan printmaking that he purchased in the
Monastery while I started the copy I brought of George Sand <i>Un
hiver </i><i>à Majorque</i>. We had hoped to explore the town and
the church. Postcards show the latter framed in beautiful blossoms
from the almond trees in springtime; today it was swathed in a bright
blue glistening tarpaulin. The rain was determined to ruin everyone's
holiday, so we gave up and waded back through the flooded streets to
our car and descended back into the central plains of the island. As
we came down the weather improved. Before we knew it the sun came
out, we opened the car windows to dry off and warm up, and the day
was transformed. We drove right across the island through Santa Maria
del Cami, Santa Eugenia, Algaida, Manicor and Porto Cristo on the
south east coast. Here we stopped to visit the Cuevas dels Hams. We
were lucky to catch the last tour of the day as it was 4:30 p.m. It
turned out to be a very beautiful experience. The south east coast is
famous for its limestone caves and beautiful collections of
stalactites and stalagmites. Others may be larger, but this series of
caves was really beautiful. Lighting has much to do with it, making
one feel as if in a forest with mysterious tree trunks and
interlocking branches. Even without the effects of the coloured
lighting, the formations and natural colours were stunning in their
own right. There were literally thousands of them, so delicate and
fragile, frequently reflected in crystal-clear water where only tiny
blind white freshwater shrimps can live. We have seen many caves in
the Jura, in Spain, and in the Peak District in England, but never
anything as beautiful and delicate as this. It was well worth the
visit. The climax was an underground lake where a small boat, lit by
tiny lights, silently glided out from behind a rock and moved across
with a small ensemble of violin, cello and keyboard playing baroque
music. We were only a small group of six or seven people, so it was
really impressive, but may be less so in high season with sixty or
seventy visitors dragging around together. The caves were very warm
which was a surprise. They stay at a constant 20 degrees centigrade
all year round and the stalagmites grow one centimeter in 30 years.</span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX5ONgvwUQY4ZlPayEjYFVpvi8mt5KmjCf9IU_838gvwudKt58x7NWFCiTPVBvKYm_7HPbBT7ulD6D7gWKxdtxwoUTGLdO5O9uuf8xKYUKea96ewueI-rWKgfDQLm8LA_ByaAQaTYB-eLA52eET7iUceOh756gwWobHR-mI6j1XcLDqnb1dg/s1280/910-A20-Cuevas-dels-Hams.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX5ONgvwUQY4ZlPayEjYFVpvi8mt5KmjCf9IU_838gvwudKt58x7NWFCiTPVBvKYm_7HPbBT7ulD6D7gWKxdtxwoUTGLdO5O9uuf8xKYUKea96ewueI-rWKgfDQLm8LA_ByaAQaTYB-eLA52eET7iUceOh756gwWobHR-mI6j1XcLDqnb1dg/s320/910-A20-Cuevas-dels-Hams.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Porto Cristo.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Cuevas dels Hams.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOHHVMt_OxJnE76DQxsaPdTQgnG3SJs6njzHosBivrH5nN-doiy2WUiAidfaQi_CJZYqs6OdMDVz_Mricv57VHlIQ11kW0sl1lgXTA6FZaPe5UFU5rqODKr3mSC8tgjPejDu7wJRnvG2oPSCqhTeJVaNvYdaz9k7NaIyR9VdbZryldJ4Cog/s1280/910-A21-Cuevas-dels-Hams.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="901" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOHHVMt_OxJnE76DQxsaPdTQgnG3SJs6njzHosBivrH5nN-doiy2WUiAidfaQi_CJZYqs6OdMDVz_Mricv57VHlIQ11kW0sl1lgXTA6FZaPe5UFU5rqODKr3mSC8tgjPejDu7wJRnvG2oPSCqhTeJVaNvYdaz9k7NaIyR9VdbZryldJ4Cog/s320/910-A21-Cuevas-dels-Hams.jpg" width="225" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Porto Cristo.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Cuevas dels Hams.</span></span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Not
wishing to drive back in darkness we headed back after the visit,
driving through the town of Porto Cristo which seems to be very
pleasant with a lovely harbour. We followed the coast round to Cala
Millor where we stopped for an evening stroll along the seafront with
its grassy lawns and palm trees. The sandy beach had groups of
children playing and the wide stretch of sea rolled in with quite
large white topped breakers, while to the left there were clear views
of the Sierra de San Jordi jutting out as an exciting looking
headland. Sadly, there was no time to explore. The sun was low in the
sky, and we still had 30 km to reach Alcudia Pins. The side roads
through to Artà were lovely, and the view of the town from this side
was most attractive, glued as it is to the top of the hillside with
its castle, church and windmill.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">From
here on the route back was straightforward, through pleasant
woodlands of pines and scrub or bare, arid hillsides. We reached our
hotel just as darkness fell. We handed back the keys of the car, and
I'm hoping tomorrow will be sufficiently dry for us to take the bus
to Palma for the day.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times;">Friday
17th October 9:30 p.m</span></b></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Today has been .a last full day in Mallorca. We got up before dawn and at
8:15 were waiting at the bus stop on the main route past Alcudia Pins
along with one other lady, also going into Palma for the day. She was
staying here alone on a break from nursing her sick husband. We felt
great respect for her in her determination to get around and enjoy
herself despite the appalling weather. Fortunately, this morning it
was not raining but was very chilly. By the time we returned this
evening the wet had returned in earnest, but for most of the day in
Palma it has been very pleasant for walking around sightseeing.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">We
were the only passengers until Alcudia, when the bus rapidly filled.
It was good to be a passenger rather than the driver, and allowed me
the opportunity to observe the countryside in a way I've been unable
to before. Across the flat plain either side of the motorway route
between Inca and Palma are large reservoirs of water. These belong to
individual plots of land and some still have the remains of windmill
stumps where in the past they were used to raise the water required
to irrigate the fields. The fields are completely flat and mainly
bare now. I wonder what crops are generally grown throughout the
season – the soil looks very productive. In the distance the area
is bounded on all sides by the impressive bare ridges of the
surrounding sierras which rise to some 4,500 feet.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">The
journey took a little over an hour, and cost €<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">8.90
each return. It was so very convenient, </span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
from the bus station we walk</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed
quickly</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
down into town. I</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">t</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
must be the smartest, cleane</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">st</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
town we have ever visited. Despite its wonderful old Arab </span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">q</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">uarter,
its stunning </span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">athedral,
its wall</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed
c</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ity,
its huge beautiful buildings and cool </span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hady
courtyards, it is essentially a chic, smart, modern, sophisticated
town with a vibrant, active local community that exists in parallel
to the German and British tourists who </span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
certain times of the year </span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">must</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
quite outnumber the local population.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: times; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-style: normal;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG187gCLXF9Rkbwgm9ZMmpC_dTIufSminkOs_6qZs9Ipyj4sRJQ9Ptk4dSf3LRXfEj9l266ofq7tsqzXWkkeq8bC38z46vSXHCqI2bXSW8qLoZ5kq1kvVX_hik0n5spChpmyiI6IaBSHnFqvjVZ2zO_Qn2wNd0IlhPmEuMHSr49G6s3SvqKg/s1280/910-A01-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG187gCLXF9Rkbwgm9ZMmpC_dTIufSminkOs_6qZs9Ipyj4sRJQ9Ptk4dSf3LRXfEj9l266ofq7tsqzXWkkeq8bC38z46vSXHCqI2bXSW8qLoZ5kq1kvVX_hik0n5spChpmyiI6IaBSHnFqvjVZ2zO_Qn2wNd0IlhPmEuMHSr49G6s3SvqKg/s320/910-A01-Palma.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Gateway. </span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">T</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">here
is not a scrap of litter to be found in the main part of the town,
and </span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ouncil
staff are employed permanently sweeping, cleaning, raking and
gardening. There is no graffiti, rubbish or dog m</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ss.
Indeed, the standard of cleanliness can almost be considered
excessive. I actually saw someone polishing one of the recycling
containers </span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">strategically
</span></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
positioned around the town.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">There
are shady corners everywhere, with benches placed beneath spreading
palm trees. Courtyards have huge terracotta containers with bright
green ferns, palms or aspidistras, offering areas of cool
tranquility. There is a definite Arab feel to the town with its
network of narrow, paved streets, towering date palms and huge stone
walls topped with crenellations. Beyond the high city walls is a
beautiful park area with a lake in which the walls are reflected. The
park is an area of paths, lawns, palms, pine, cactuses (some of them
quite enormous), ferns, geraniums, ivy and aspidistras, all looking
wonderful in a natural setting. Many I've grown at home, but they
look nothing compared to here.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Our
first visit was to the Arab baths. These are surrounded by a tranquil
walled garden full of firs, succulents and ferns with a fountain
playing and cool areas to sit. The baths date from the 10th century
and are modelled on the Roman idea of hot and cold baths, a meeting
place for social activity. The domed roof is pierced in several
places to allow light to enter and is supported on a dozen slim
columns. The baths are modest in size and the materials from which
they are formed have probably been recycled from earlier buildings.</span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXKBIBpfBRPW5_98Idhrh13ekIq3FoDJgnNYrxSB7XsAClxwoIrGAjcwqimTJzHYnH3zxrBNcKS3tGqNSyj7uT91cXl2tbzvO56EYwnc2POsmNoaYpPKHag5MvTaQK8XEZHF9aTnHPE7Tsf6A6qKgXucky5ngSejYhCWuOTjODDR4V1n66g/s1280/910-A02-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="852" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXKBIBpfBRPW5_98Idhrh13ekIq3FoDJgnNYrxSB7XsAClxwoIrGAjcwqimTJzHYnH3zxrBNcKS3tGqNSyj7uT91cXl2tbzvO56EYwnc2POsmNoaYpPKHag5MvTaQK8XEZHF9aTnHPE7Tsf6A6qKgXucky5ngSejYhCWuOTjODDR4V1n66g/s320/910-A02-Palma.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Arab baths.</span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Next
we visited the gothic Cathedral, a honeypot for all visitors. I think
it is much nicer from outside; within it is full of really gaudy
stained glass. It is very badly lit and there are some 25 or more
side altars two different saints. In front of each is an iron grill
to prevent anyone getting too close. The paintings of the saints and
the frescoes are all too dark to see and the altarpieces are all very
repetitive and formulaic. We shuffled our way around with the
hundreds of other tourists, and it became rather tedious.</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_JlQOLhoFXoBNIRz_bSRwcAtF3ualmRuy0ACOQV92ldPzEehGAYumXbFAuAN6X_Cq3qMLf7vS5_lf6X7oQ1YB4BKtUWDzUI6UcG9Rb14Y6hG6N6jUft-RvtqzLCb1p126WsQa9Pw00jfiA7TQhIP79lXzHlauO2sKQpZwCQOOhYL4VZeEQ/s1280/910-A00-Palma.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_JlQOLhoFXoBNIRz_bSRwcAtF3ualmRuy0ACOQV92ldPzEehGAYumXbFAuAN6X_Cq3qMLf7vS5_lf6X7oQ1YB4BKtUWDzUI6UcG9Rb14Y6hG6N6jUft-RvtqzLCb1p126WsQa9Pw00jfiA7TQhIP79lXzHlauO2sKQpZwCQOOhYL4VZeEQ/s320/910-A00-Palma.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Cathedral.</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYcgyShyOyi5F1bC5oWGnRVWSjfnx5Z3UTE-1r7hm28PpeCoaeeo2A-83TB79iY8fnSk-Yek0Eo_mA8nmv_WNYE47lCbvAK3yiaWn-fCK_46PZgk2LsFRWLu-xA_hA6XlE56VhJ1B3-n2ABtnXEv4qexKVsGd-hgdgkCyGxMDIEUPU7GeUBQ/s1280/910-A06-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYcgyShyOyi5F1bC5oWGnRVWSjfnx5Z3UTE-1r7hm28PpeCoaeeo2A-83TB79iY8fnSk-Yek0Eo_mA8nmv_WNYE47lCbvAK3yiaWn-fCK_46PZgk2LsFRWLu-xA_hA6XlE56VhJ1B3-n2ABtnXEv4qexKVsGd-hgdgkCyGxMDIEUPU7GeUBQ/s320/910-A06-Palma.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Cathedral above city walls. </span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">While
from the outside the cathedral looks almost squashed and has no
tower, inside it must be one of the highest buildings we have ever
entered. On display are plenty of pieces of church plate,
candelabras, reliquaries of St. Sebastian and others, some of them
quite disturbing - paintings of people being martyred with arrows or
bits of their bones setting gold and heavily ornamented I find rather
distasteful. Needless to say, Palma too has its piece of the original
cross of Christ, and quite a large chunk was on display. Even the
bits I've seen in my lifetime must be enough to construct Noah's Ark,
and who knows how many more pieces are scattered around Christendom.</span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Once
out in the sunshine the explored the gardens, then went down to the
harbour from where we had superb views back to the walls of the town
and the cathedral towering above. We also saw where the ferries
arrived from Europe and the marina full of elegant yachts. </span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif233kka_HunPwRryu7GEvxminR9UxUGl7ZPUtWU9AQnAcCqejv253UtOKsitW4k9EHHoRiEQajkXwRKScvEZVcnDfYv61alhSONHRSTFYynj1JjM-IVzTZTrbuhIkUd1SFtySVBWZQHAL5FnZdCEE7kEOJruxPaT0fj8cuBRQOEVAr4n3Wg/s1280/910-A04-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif233kka_HunPwRryu7GEvxminR9UxUGl7ZPUtWU9AQnAcCqejv253UtOKsitW4k9EHHoRiEQajkXwRKScvEZVcnDfYv61alhSONHRSTFYynj1JjM-IVzTZTrbuhIkUd1SFtySVBWZQHAL5FnZdCEE7kEOJruxPaT0fj8cuBRQOEVAr4n3Wg/s320/910-A04-Palma.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Pal;ma. Sculpture in S'Hort del Rei.</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2THRE2nZlpnJATrVEZLigAf-lOOutyxXI7DGohrIJ8qCzAd9K1jt-G4QATJrdBR7aM1WtAz6qu8YON6gGRRFHhtsGCti80ua4oBu5LpDXRUks_1g8dn3ApNIDWmH5uj0kD_xn49tsmjsEBVz0F0G3-CdoiS0fVoTsgDO2Yi-hIsV1ZcNCYw/s1280/910-A05-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2THRE2nZlpnJATrVEZLigAf-lOOutyxXI7DGohrIJ8qCzAd9K1jt-G4QATJrdBR7aM1WtAz6qu8YON6gGRRFHhtsGCti80ua4oBu5LpDXRUks_1g8dn3ApNIDWmH5uj0kD_xn49tsmjsEBVz0F0G3-CdoiS0fVoTsgDO2Yi-hIsV1ZcNCYw/s320/910-A05-Palma.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Palau de l'Amudaina. </span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNbS_hFUhyGR2GmE_CyxKYxhR9SISUuqvs3ro6lFcJBGl0npuCLsKf-NinhGp0zGu0cG9fHTLtvoQj51aYK8Ua31kMImpQirC3pH-0iOmmL7mKU_D8pnlNqBDI7ZY7f3XUcYifgyBHWKq9LbWf77V92gh-FM-A4xkp0gmQ_vaOQJ9eb5qaAg/s1280/910-A07-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNbS_hFUhyGR2GmE_CyxKYxhR9SISUuqvs3ro6lFcJBGl0npuCLsKf-NinhGp0zGu0cG9fHTLtvoQj51aYK8Ua31kMImpQirC3pH-0iOmmL7mKU_D8pnlNqBDI7ZY7f3XUcYifgyBHWKq9LbWf77V92gh-FM-A4xkp0gmQ_vaOQJ9eb5qaAg/s320/910-A07-Palma.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Baluard Sant Pere. </span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksnOXzV1iXXmU_MPw0C2SO2ap-WhzD4cSpTRNnNyqx1be1g4W0mf1y5K0kkjdBQ54nk2A0GPVLIlxRWM8AzfRdNas5D-VD865piLGHmn3G2XvEiuvPZ3dGFvJ-76HqHqAsPl_KTz_K1-m4ALmNYvhR9IoEaVDkSbxU1_fizwPu4_FHxiN4w/s1280/910-A09-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksnOXzV1iXXmU_MPw0C2SO2ap-WhzD4cSpTRNnNyqx1be1g4W0mf1y5K0kkjdBQ54nk2A0GPVLIlxRWM8AzfRdNas5D-VD865piLGHmn3G2XvEiuvPZ3dGFvJ-76HqHqAsPl_KTz_K1-m4ALmNYvhR9IoEaVDkSbxU1_fizwPu4_FHxiN4w/s320/910-A09-Palma.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Palau de l'Amudaina and Cathedral. </span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rWgMoiSidceZuoMg_h2Glb_5sTkKRiJ5PZuFAyHrwfsGF_ivxUk-e-Gp7Xhv2AzGYfScKt2b3qRh3APNxYwy2GI_nlyv9u8lX5lqhmvHbPZCAEnDB1E7Z3EZfGejZWcr8comymksjxSXNh0Razz-HAscCbrqNRrPJ8w1Wi1ryZukXwefGw/s1280/910-A10-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rWgMoiSidceZuoMg_h2Glb_5sTkKRiJ5PZuFAyHrwfsGF_ivxUk-e-Gp7Xhv2AzGYfScKt2b3qRh3APNxYwy2GI_nlyv9u8lX5lqhmvHbPZCAEnDB1E7Z3EZfGejZWcr8comymksjxSXNh0Razz-HAscCbrqNRrPJ8w1Wi1ryZukXwefGw/s320/910-A10-Palma.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Cathedral from waterfront. </span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">We stopped for lunch on a street terrace. It was the nicest meal we've had in Mallorca, even though it was the menu of the day. Ian had asparagus soup, and I had a huge, freshly mixed salad. We followed this with grilled hake cooked in butter with lemon and parsley. The two meals included beer and coffee and totalled €18.The
waiter spoke no English so we had fun sorting everything out, but we
got what we wanted, including my jug of hot water with my black
coffee. </span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">On the seafront we took a photo of Palma's favourite
theologian, Ramón Llul, according to some sources stoned to death in
Tunisia in 1316 for trying to convert the Turks to Christianity. My
knowledge of him until now has been based entirely on the accounts
given of him by John Masefield in his <i>B</i><i>ox of delights,</i>
where are Ramón Llul is the travelling peddler in whose charge the
magical box is held for safekeeping. Why Masefield picked on Ramón
Llul and put him into such a strange role, I've no idea. In reality
Ramón Llul began his life as a philanderer who had many different
mistresses until, according to one legend, he was shown in a vision
the cancerous breasts of his latest paramour. The shock somehow
converted him into a model Christian and he promptly deserted his
wife and family, learned Arabic, and set about converting the
infidel. The rest as they say is history. His writings were always
controversial, but highly influential. A couple of centuries after
his death his bones were interred in the Monastery of st. Francis in
Palma. How curiosity for Ramón Llul having been aroused, we
dutifully paid €1 each to enter the church of St. Francis to see
Ramón Llul’s tomb.
</span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xVG4qV7qlp380k4wLAb4hORt-4MgpPZAQLFkZXHA5D6o2lJgbW16Qc5ksm5YjIuvGkCCFuv2sRoG8UCa2ovKd5nj3DVEZZJ_CCuNueEulaP__7ByoJuoBFbpyyqadNQHbCtZAYfI1X54W_HgY9EJIKVwvO9ThvvegIIuZLgWp_xnOYFYCg/s1280/910-A08-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="848" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xVG4qV7qlp380k4wLAb4hORt-4MgpPZAQLFkZXHA5D6o2lJgbW16Qc5ksm5YjIuvGkCCFuv2sRoG8UCa2ovKd5nj3DVEZZJ_CCuNueEulaP__7ByoJuoBFbpyyqadNQHbCtZAYfI1X54W_HgY9EJIKVwvO9ThvvegIIuZLgWp_xnOYFYCg/s320/910-A08-Palma.jpg" width="212" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. State of Ramon Llul.</span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">It
proved to be a very lovely church, again with rather gaudy glass and
very poorly lit indeed, so it was impossible to see the paintings or
tombs properly. But there were hardly any tourists, the church was
peaceful and quiet, there was a beautiful cloister of delicate
weathered limestone columns and carved tracery, and the central
courtyard contained orange and lemon trees, a cypress and a palm
tree. It was all very beautiful and to complete it all, we did manage
to find the tomb of Ramón Llul who now seems to us a real person.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73az5nTA6PPBhbXaANh9U_G7DSvQ-Fn9gnzjF2mX1W0swxcqgm5iZBdDTHwWsr-BjTknMZA_PlNqsVzOBlYqmZkXAXLDpArdVi1GZhYB01qUywGiS4cTd-oETUpFq8Wd0iztObzI7PkPZnoPHl2VOppPmr290wVBlWi_bFJcnyIHf9fsZWw/s1280/910-A11-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73az5nTA6PPBhbXaANh9U_G7DSvQ-Fn9gnzjF2mX1W0swxcqgm5iZBdDTHwWsr-BjTknMZA_PlNqsVzOBlYqmZkXAXLDpArdVi1GZhYB01qUywGiS4cTd-oETUpFq8Wd0iztObzI7PkPZnoPHl2VOppPmr290wVBlWi_bFJcnyIHf9fsZWw/s320/910-A11-Palma.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Basilica de Sant Francesco. </span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6CicYUEdoOUR-Ii4hwx_4ZsmwJkLG1V88--pfnKHrMZCTbO6XKLwumtGjK1R4uxZZIduMeaNtmsbrpukK3-PfdbUvGAfNGBJ326ul3kSBHJiGTl6g9L8KnBdSHksfxsHaHwjT3jvfpTEbwM6a8ZbhO_6e0sPWlW8wYYZA-zEyQwafgwUgA/s1280/910-A12-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6CicYUEdoOUR-Ii4hwx_4ZsmwJkLG1V88--pfnKHrMZCTbO6XKLwumtGjK1R4uxZZIduMeaNtmsbrpukK3-PfdbUvGAfNGBJ326ul3kSBHJiGTl6g9L8KnBdSHksfxsHaHwjT3jvfpTEbwM6a8ZbhO_6e0sPWlW8wYYZA-zEyQwafgwUgA/s320/910-A12-Palma.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Basilica de Sant Francesco. </span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">We
then looked at the more recent parts of the town and the chic
shopping areas, walking the treelined Passeig de Bom and La Rambla
with its many flower stalls and seats beneath the shade of the trees.
We also visited the Mercat Olivar or general market. This is indoors,
and is spotlessly clean. There is an endless array of fresh fish, all
artistically displayed. There is a meat market, fruit and vegetable
market, and cheese and charcuterie are also being sold. It was a bit
too clinical and smart to have a true market feel, such as we have
experienced in France or Greece. However it was probably a lot more
hygienic and wholesome.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">As
we made our way back to the bus station around 5:30 p.m. we heard
drumming, shouting and banging. The police had cordoned off the
street and groups of young people were marching through Palma on a
demo. Actually there were several bands and what appeared to be
several demos. It was almost as if the police put Friday afternoon on
one side and anyone who wanted to protest about anything could come
along and join the end of the queue of demonstrators. It appeared
these were all to do with social welfare reforms in Mallorca.</span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5t65kjpMH_VGSHD_sV_5AiYLVtbaeFqDOHD5C1A_PAwyRDge68axUKCGPNYxBDnC6OGDCZsMYbuHAOUfgNQFTi-Yr-z9U2IsoNTkXTaEYv-fE23mS6xgW9-2QC1FyS8Wb6Yk5EXCvhdvujRxAaRiIsngC2jnoirld8ZWJ9pmhR70nmrHYRw/s1280/910-A13-Palma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1280" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5t65kjpMH_VGSHD_sV_5AiYLVtbaeFqDOHD5C1A_PAwyRDge68axUKCGPNYxBDnC6OGDCZsMYbuHAOUfgNQFTi-Yr-z9U2IsoNTkXTaEYv-fE23mS6xgW9-2QC1FyS8Wb6Yk5EXCvhdvujRxAaRiIsngC2jnoirld8ZWJ9pmhR70nmrHYRw/s320/910-A13-Palma.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Palma. Demonstration. </span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">By
now it was beginning to drizzle. The bus was waiting as we reached
the station and it left packed full. During the one hour drive back
back, darkness fell, as did the rain in real earnest.</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">We
had had a dry, pleasant day but back at the site the road was flooded
as we stepped down from the bus, and the rain was falling in
torrents. It must have been doing so all day to have created so much
groundwater.</span></p><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiT6A5dzktfw_hChsceQFjZbtGFF6uHs3ZQGfZMCPIbV7bJS4sXxPv83I_jVVL5gRRbSRZkhLTPGvBH37jf5_XnV2yKQ6-55Ehs3GHFps9PiGpXfbC9InHRmEajTRWwTTHWJm339ZHio8JkHTHecA0HKvOw_SWmV6gsa0YevzJDxT3B280Bg/s1280/910-A30-Alcudia.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="1280" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiT6A5dzktfw_hChsceQFjZbtGFF6uHs3ZQGfZMCPIbV7bJS4sXxPv83I_jVVL5gRRbSRZkhLTPGvBH37jf5_XnV2yKQ6-55Ehs3GHFps9PiGpXfbC9InHRmEajTRWwTTHWJm339ZHio8JkHTHecA0HKvOw_SWmV6gsa0YevzJDxT3B280Bg/s320/910-A30-Alcudia.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Alcudia Pins.</span></div><p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">I've
moaned about our resorts but haven't really described it. All along
the sand-duned seashore are white, pink or lemon blocks of holiday
apartments some five or six stories high, each with their individual
balcony. The overall effect of each block is of an egg box. Each is
clean and equipped with the basic essentials for self-catering
although most guests opt for the on-site dining facilities. We could
have selected half board at €20 each per day if we wished</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">The
beach is clean, raked every evening, and equipped with sun loungers
with matted grass sunshades. The sea is shallow, with soft waves
rolling gently in. Good for kids and a number are enjoying themselves
even in the rain.
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">The
accommodation complex at each side is centred around a lawn, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">lower
beds and trees with a couple of huge, curving blue pools around which
guests can snooze the day away on </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">sun
lounger</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">s
while drinks are served - </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">hat
is, when the weather is ok</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">ay</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">.
Here to</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">
there is a bar and the entertainment facilities. Outside the complex
is the road that stretches f</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">or
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">many
miles along the seafront. Other areas of the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">is</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">land
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">are
similar</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">ly
developed. There are bars and restaurants, amusement arcades, trike
and bike hire, pony rides, car hire firms, go-karting, dodgem cars
Molly O'Brien Irish bar, H</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><em><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ä</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></em><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">agen-Dazs
ice cream parlours, M</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">cDonald's,
Burger King, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Coca-Cola,
Pepsi-Cola, the Shangri-La Chinese takeaway, boating lakes, signs
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">everywhere</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">
in English or German, supermarkets selling frankfurters and
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">Leberwurst,
or </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">baked
beans, wrapped </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">white
slic</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">ed
bread and pre-packed mild cheddar cheese. It </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-variant: normal;">s
quite normal to see people sitting on a terrace with a beer, a
doughnut, a burger and chips and a Mars bar. For families with
children it must cost a fortune to keep them amused in wet weather.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times;">Saturday
18th October 2003</span></b></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">We
are now hanging around Mallorca Airport where our plane back to
Exeter has been delayed, as it also was on the way out. Currently
it's an hour late but who knows? We've not missed a great deal
returning home today as the weather continues cold, cloudy and rather
indifferent although it's not actually raining. We had a very good
time in Mallorca but no thanks to the weather, which is perhaps the
worst with ever had on holiday with the exception of our aborted
attempt to see Venice a few years back. Without the use of the car
here this week would have been a complete disaster.
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br />
</p>
<p class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br />
</p>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-89280080538635890362023-01-20T15:57:00.006+00:002023-01-20T15:57:48.995+00:00Mallorca 2003. Deluge the second.<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Tuesday 14 October 2003</b></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><br /></b>Well
the storm arrived here during the night. According to Ian it was very
noisy and spectacular, but I was so deeply asleep that I was totally
unaware of it. This morning our balcony is wet and the palm trees
below our room are tossing fitfully, but it's dry now and as warm as
ever.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /><b>8.30
in the evening</b></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><br /></b>We
have decided not to sample any further eating establishments here, at
least for tonight. Instead we are opting to eat in our room from a
selection of vacuum-packed meat delicacies purchased from the on-site
supermarket along with a choice of condom-wrapped cucumber and
misshapen tomatoes. It's raining heavily and we are wet through from
our day's adventures. With a litre of Rioja to salve our sores, we
feel a night in has its attractions. So, while Ian practices his
culinary skills in the oven-free zone of our kitchen area, I'm using
the excuse of this diary to relax and recover from driving back in
the dark and the rain from Bunyola, some 60 km from here.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
It
was still dark when we woke this morning. By nine we were on our way
to Bunyola intending to take the Palma to Soller train. I had no wish
to drive around Palma finding somewhere to park, nor did I wish to
navigate the 27 hairpin bends down from the Sierra de Tramuntano into
Soller by car. Driving to Bunyola seemed an excellent compromise,
particularly as the route up from Palma is not considered
particularly spectacular until Bunyola. So we left here in sunshine,
driving over a flat countryside of reed beds and windmills, many just
stumps, a few still sporting skeletal sails previously used to pump
water up to irrigate the vegetable plots and orchards of the plains
behind the sierra.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
Not
far away we discovered from the map a little town on a hilltop with a
couple of windmills. Its name immediately attracted us and we decided
to seek out Buger, which turned out to be a delightfully sleepy
place, too nice really to add to our odd place-name collection, which
includes the likes of Rottenegg in Germany and other silly names.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />As
we entered the central square of the little town, we were met by an
assortment of scruffy little dogs scampering around freely while the
assortment of scruffy little gentlemen that owned them stood around
on street corners, chatting and gesticulating to each other. Life
seemed very laid back and pleasant as the women of the town buzzed
about on their mopeds to do the shopping. The central square had a
fountain with a huge metal candle, complete with flame. At that
moment light dawned for Ian and me. Buger must be Catalan for candle,
like bougie in French – the delights of language. [Or so we
thought in 2003 … Búger actually derives from the Arabic Bujar,
meaning farm, although a candle is a symbol for the town, featuring
on its coat of arms.]</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
The
countryside around the town was equally attractive with orchards,
little fields bounded by dry stone walls, with a hermitage on a
hilltop rising from the plain and a church tower and a windmill
topping the hill upon which Búger sits. Around here the plain looks
quite fertile, protected from winter winds by the towering hills of
the Sierra de Tramuntana, the little road twisting its way between
the fields and orchards. We continued, avoiding the motorway after
Inca, via Binissalem, Consell and Santa Maria del Cane to Bunyola, a
pleasant hilltop town which we unfortunately had no time to explore.
We found a parking space, brooded over on all sides by the towering
cloud-capped bare grey slopes of the dry mountains and walked down
the steep streets lined with plane trees and large old stone houses
to the little railway station with its single track at the bottom of
the town.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />From
here five trains a day pass on their way up from Palma to Soller.
However six trains a day pass on their way from Soller to Palma. One
of Mallorca's great mysteries is why there is not a concentration of
engines in Palma to the detriment of Soller. For once our luck
seemed to be in; a train was due in 30 minutes. However instead of
€1.17 single this is a tourist train and cost us €6.00 each.
There was no difference with the service it was just a good way to
make money. The choice was take to this train at 11.38 am or wait
until 2.30 pm and travel for €1.17. I have to admire them; they
know how to make the most of the tourists but really it is still very
cheap. Maybe any locals willing to travel with a trainload of Brits
and Germans would travel at the local rates. The train was already
packed when it arrived. The line was opened in 1912 to link Soller
to the outside world and it passes across and through the Sierra de
Tramuntana in a series of curves and tunnels, one of them two
kilometres long. The trains are the original electric ones with
varnished wooden carriages, unsprung seats and windows that open
right up along the sides to afford excellent views up the mountain
sides. There were viewing platforms where the hardy could stand,
clutching on to wrought iron railings as the train climbed up to the
mountains to the summit before plunging down in a series of zigzag
curves into the town on the flat plain on the far side.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGDY0HhVcqIVP36QpQ6j2sECVxrAwP3bFUtaCBTIhTOE23vP0RbxUZ5m_ZB3KnN8RJ0RKcelAmm4HcpRU2P6y2I0hQkJ1LHCJkiSmpDszR-9CkRBvfGPITWjOBIwjtTX2oXYzdnNPlpRr7AF7RX1OHnnhA3nUv5mCP1t7mtq3oeiSA9EPdw/s1280/900-25-Bunyola.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="918" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGDY0HhVcqIVP36QpQ6j2sECVxrAwP3bFUtaCBTIhTOE23vP0RbxUZ5m_ZB3KnN8RJ0RKcelAmm4HcpRU2P6y2I0hQkJ1LHCJkiSmpDszR-9CkRBvfGPITWjOBIwjtTX2oXYzdnNPlpRr7AF7RX1OHnnhA3nUv5mCP1t7mtq3oeiSA9EPdw/s320/900-25-Bunyola.JPG" width="230" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Bunyola. The train to Soller</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: times;">We
were obliged to stand outside on the ledge at the front of the
carriage as it was completely full of German visitors inside. Actually we
were lucky; the weather was mild and dry and it was a wonderful
experience standing on the swaying metal platform as the train rolled
and jolted its way up between olive groves bordered with dry stone
walls up into areas of scrub, then conifers, perhaps larch, with all
the time the grey stark scree of the barren, arid limestone peaks
high above.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />It
is a unique experience, clutching on as we were suddenly plunged into
total darkness when the little wooden train on its narrow gauge
single track suddenly entered into a two kilometre long curving
tunnel that seemed to go on for ever, noisily rattling along with
just a ghostly glow from the lighting in the interior of the carriage
ahead of us. Then, just as it seemed this was for ever, we shot out
into daylight, pine trees brushing the coach to one side with a
plunge deep into the valley on the other where the town of Soller lay
spread out in the valley far below. Above the peaks still wrapped
themselves modestly in wisps of cloud cover.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd180LazNo2RJ0BgCsQfS5ahtEW_sb-52kbhLAIro47XVvbuRDjBOQfXKt8lqgHvl0mis9ZXZIkLE-9_RPXvsXwZI7OWB92Y4t1pejh_N4ECrSHoBW7P2_UmWzTK0T7DK3M283wVtfoX53IQgKrlI8pAS1hOTWe-xOc92cQqL8nSM8xFBJXQ/s3551/900-26-Soller.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2351" data-original-width="3551" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd180LazNo2RJ0BgCsQfS5ahtEW_sb-52kbhLAIro47XVvbuRDjBOQfXKt8lqgHvl0mis9ZXZIkLE-9_RPXvsXwZI7OWB92Y4t1pejh_N4ECrSHoBW7P2_UmWzTK0T7DK3M283wVtfoX53IQgKrlI8pAS1hOTWe-xOc92cQqL8nSM8xFBJXQ/s320/900-26-Soller.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Soller from the train</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ljbspvnMbkn1lIlYLBKNrYqpxMCRPPa_okpj_whQHnqhut45WM_lBR39OryncVkCwQE0ErselqT2APWtLCTniqNx1APsFhVq1TsdfuAe5_M7ZEe59LAJzYnWo8v8qxjz_Usvh4N12a6iOikGo3nYuZnKgoRSiQ8bzfLDt9nCcSMApkqYyQ/s3465/900-27-Soller.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3465" data-original-width="2391" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ljbspvnMbkn1lIlYLBKNrYqpxMCRPPa_okpj_whQHnqhut45WM_lBR39OryncVkCwQE0ErselqT2APWtLCTniqNx1APsFhVq1TsdfuAe5_M7ZEe59LAJzYnWo8v8qxjz_Usvh4N12a6iOikGo3nYuZnKgoRSiQ8bzfLDt9nCcSMApkqYyQ/s320/900-27-Soller.JPG" width="221" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Soller. Tunnel on the railway.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOm0G9yUb30M1k1NRQSJYtPrkz5b8v4Hiha1jNFoxtaR5SKxTWwOHki8RQVUdd6e8h3KzZxFZCYOvfI9aZ92GOAxWz7MqohtHxqIBob1ga5WLh_f_6y4l7WKvyoefjp9HN7PyHHFNfPfo4SZGSYD3RWFlAItQlk9y0zSLI3ic5ubCxZH1_ww/s2921/900-27a-Soller.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="2921" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOm0G9yUb30M1k1NRQSJYtPrkz5b8v4Hiha1jNFoxtaR5SKxTWwOHki8RQVUdd6e8h3KzZxFZCYOvfI9aZ92GOAxWz7MqohtHxqIBob1ga5WLh_f_6y4l7WKvyoefjp9HN7PyHHFNfPfo4SZGSYD3RWFlAItQlk9y0zSLI3ic5ubCxZH1_ww/s320/900-27a-Soller.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Soller. Railway train.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: times;">Eventually, after a series of curves which caused the town to appear first on one side of us, then on the other, we rattled down into the station where we disgorged onto the platform to exit into the town through the large, impressive station entrance. Soller made an immediately agreeable impression despite bursting at the seams with tourists, most of whom seemed to gather around the cafes and bars of the main square with its many shady plane trees and palms. Beyond we discovered a little market selling birds in cages - they decanted them into little white boxes for you to take them home. We also discovered the municipal market hall, selling fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish. This area was full of local people with only a few tourists around.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />Later
we took the tram down to the port of Soller, more for the ride than a
desire to see the port. Ian says the trams are former San Francisco
rolling stock. They connect with the railway and like the railway
carriages are constructed of beautifully varnished wood. Tehy are
open sided and potter through the town out across fields, down by the
torrento or dried up river bed, actually flowing after the rains of
last night, and through orchards with chickens scratching under lemon
and orange trees, even passing through back gardens with old stone
houses or smallholdings with vegetables, almond and peach trees.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />Eventually
the tram runs alongside the harbour down to the port with its many
bobbing boats, where it terminates. There is little to do however.
Most shops are for souvenirs, or are cafes and restaurants. We
couldn't find anywhere suitable for buying picnic food and there was
little else to do, so we caught the tram back to Soller. It had been
a wonderful ride, well worth the €1.00 single ticket price.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />Back
in Soller the port pastry cases filled with spinach and Mallorcan
goat's cheese, meat and vegetables, and chicken. These we ate with a
bottle of water under the plane trees by a fountain near the
impressive station entrance.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wMLmd2jK57AoY2yxUzSvMAd7_4kbYGPbOvQrQbOcdOn0vGIZX2hPUCUi_Uf8_UonrBRFox4nsz8lz9ETR3FK4K-16JSPLc0yUFbnOr1netbnd6MxM1xPfC6Duk9tWnHgLO0KLcEbEKNVSkZC4G75hvBm812zieb4dobmk-tVF5K7_RXe6g/s3496/900-28-Soller.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2353" data-original-width="3496" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wMLmd2jK57AoY2yxUzSvMAd7_4kbYGPbOvQrQbOcdOn0vGIZX2hPUCUi_Uf8_UonrBRFox4nsz8lz9ETR3FK4K-16JSPLc0yUFbnOr1netbnd6MxM1xPfC6Duk9tWnHgLO0KLcEbEKNVSkZC4G75hvBm812zieb4dobmk-tVF5K7_RXe6g/s320/900-28-Soller.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Soller. Tram in town</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxMHROnp_U3pUMu7PNRy2hCroRzxykM6YXdlM07kb7RLEsEtUKO-rocXe2b19nXUUBSimOyAa_8nrGbvMBrZQA4Oqw0pqPg2jmiB-IEbGcOEnU6H4SUr5R-UwfLJtobN-3PKCcLfJ5wenj6g1P_Cpa1QjMO3Tw6yLVEk_0cQPT4s145VkoA/s2954/900-28a-Soller.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1711" data-original-width="2954" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxMHROnp_U3pUMu7PNRy2hCroRzxykM6YXdlM07kb7RLEsEtUKO-rocXe2b19nXUUBSimOyAa_8nrGbvMBrZQA4Oqw0pqPg2jmiB-IEbGcOEnU6H4SUr5R-UwfLJtobN-3PKCcLfJ5wenj6g1P_Cpa1QjMO3Tw6yLVEk_0cQPT4s145VkoA/s320/900-28a-Soller.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Soller. Tram beside port.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: times;">The
rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the town which is very
pleasant, full of large old stone houses with tubs of flowering
shrubs outside or on their balconies. Many, off the main centre,
have lovely stone walled gardens with bright flowers, pomegranate
trees, oranges and lemons. In no time, by plunging down beside the
road you find yourself in open country with wonderful views up to the
grey surrounding crags. We made our way to the Natural Sciences
Museum and the Botanical Gardens as I had read that they had leaflets
about the indigenous species of plants and flowers of Mallorca. I
have seen so many that I didn't recognise and really wanted a
leaflet. However, along with so many things here, the Museum is
closed from 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm, when they reopened until 8.00 pm.
Darkness here falls by 7.30 pm at the latest and the last train
leaves Soller at 6.15 pm. Visitors are around in their hundreds, if
not thousands, between 1.00 and 5.30 pm. Is there not a case for
reconsidering opening arrangements?</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghI6It5cPPo2Cu3iPuAz77ITpVUDX2R1tXId4b-OKNIw2Hj9rY6_MqcMylkPZJm8Rm_xgVTzxzl4POHi7KBdPs4ip49yFGNR5cu11wEsV0EKBPCyJ1k4JKQRxepry48LAZb1KL8WiRJ6V3xuWbSphbk2Q6qevHh-afc7_7UKiPfIX2-HOjdg/s1280/900-29-Soller.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghI6It5cPPo2Cu3iPuAz77ITpVUDX2R1tXId4b-OKNIw2Hj9rY6_MqcMylkPZJm8Rm_xgVTzxzl4POHi7KBdPs4ip49yFGNR5cu11wEsV0EKBPCyJ1k4JKQRxepry48LAZb1KL8WiRJ6V3xuWbSphbk2Q6qevHh-afc7_7UKiPfIX2-HOjdg/s320/900-29-Soller.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Soller. View from the west</span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></blockquote><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">As
we reached the closed doors of the Museum, heavy drops of rain began
to fall. We retraced our steps to the town centre by which time it
was teeming down, and all the restaurants around the square were
packed. In a side street we found a little shop with a café and
ordered a couple of coffees which we drank as we read the local
Catalan Soller newspaper and The Mallorca Times in Castilian.
Considering that we cannot speak either language, we spent a very
informative hour as the rain slashed down in the street outside.
There was a major article in the Soller newspaper about funding and
space problems in the Municipal Library. Because the terminology was
known to us, it was quite easy working out that the University of
Mallorca is funding the project to produce a union catalogue of all
the library resources on the island, that there is a guaranteed three
day limit for obtaining items held anywhere in Mallorca, that all
books, videos etc. are to be bar-coded and issued to users who will
themselves have bar-coded tickets etc. How useful to us it will be,
knowing the Catalan for barcode scanner or computerised database or
inter-library loan requests, I don't know but it could come in handy
one day.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">It
was still raining when we left, so we went into a neighbouring shop
where a zany lady was selling umbrellas like hot cakes. She was also
selling off lovely Mallorcan dishes, jugs and bowls at greatly
reduced prices. We bought a pretty little jug as a present and a
paella pan for myself. She seemed to make the prices up as she went
along and they came to far less than the marked prices. She told us
it was closing down so was clearing her stock, though I don't suppose
she is. The items are probably seconds but good value anyway. She
gave Ian a couple of postcards but as one was of naked women I
jokingly said the I objected so she changed it, to Ian's chagrin, for
a postcard of Chopin's piano in Valldemosa.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />Like
the Museum, the station closed from 1.30 to 5.30 pm. Hoping there
would be extra trais, we made our way to the station, along with
every other visitor to the town. Hundreds of people crowded the
platform and waiting room, aptly named Salon de Esperanto, as the
rain fell in a deluge around us. However we were all obliged to wait
until 5.45 pm before there was any sign of activity. Eventually we
all piled, wet and steaming, into a double-length train and, with the
windows to steamy to see out, we crawled our way up out of the town
trough the many tunnels, into the mountains and down to Bunyola where
Ian and I got off along with half a dozen others. All the rest
trundles on their way to Palma.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thankfully
the rain had temporarily ceased so we walked up through the town,
found our car and, as dusk began to fall, started the one hour drive
back to our hotel. As darkness closed around us, the rain began. By
the time we reached here I had enough of coping with a strange car on
strange roads on the wrong side with darkness, pouring rain and
steamed up windows. Fortunately I had an excellent navigator and we
arrived here with no problems. Roads are definitely good here and
driving generally easier than anywhere we have used a hire car for
before. It's now 11 pm and a storm is raging outside. I'm glad we
decided to eat in. Lightning is flashing continually, thunder is
crashing around, and all the electricity is flickering. I hope it
will have worn itself out by tomorrow. Ian, as usual when I'm
writing, has fallen fast asleep. So I think I'll go to bed now. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><b>Wednesday
</b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><b>15</b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span><b>
October 2003</b></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><br /></b>All
night the rain and the wind continued. This morning the exit routes
from the site were flooded. As we drove across the surrounding flat
plain, the “torrentos” were living up to their name. The whole
day has been torrential rains interspersed with occasional patches of
sunlight. Generally the car headlights have been on all day, the
windscreen wipers have been functioning, and the heater and demisters
have had to work continuously to retain visibility. In the past I
complained of the heat in Corsica, Crete and Tenerife. Here I'm
moaning about the wet and the cold!</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />Actually
we have coped pretty well, and have enjoyed today greatly. We're
still very sorry though for the families with young children confined
to the site. They have obviously come to the sea sun and sand. For
the last two days they have been quite unable to enjoy any of them.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sine</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
lies at the centre of the island and market day is on Wednesdays. We
arrived around 10 a.m. and after parking below the town, which like
most old towns in Mallorca, is built on a hill rising from the flat
pla</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of the interior of the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">land,
we walked up in pouring rain to the market surrounding the church of
Nostra </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><em style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Señora</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></em><span style="color: black; font-family: times;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">de
Los Angeles. In front of the church dominating the town is a statue
of a winged lion, the symbol of the town, place</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
there during the Franco regime and very evocative of fascism. The
market is highly praised and of importance to the whole </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sland.
The animal market must have already ended because all we saw were
cages of domestic </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">b</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">irds,
puppies, kittens, and a few sheep and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ambs.
Vegetables and dried fruit </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">were
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">for
sale, but the most successful product on sale was umbrellas, which
w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ere</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
selling rapidly to the miserable tourists pouring from the coaches in
t-shirts and shorts, shivering in the wet as they puddle-jump</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
from st</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">al</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">l
to stall. The rest of the market, which spread around all the streets
of the town, w</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">as</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
mainly </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">for
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">clothing
or </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">textiles
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
curtains. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">All</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
rather a disappointment really, but I don't suppose the weather
help</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
much with the atmosphere.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
left the main area to explore the more residential quarters of huge
old stone houses with their green shuttered windows and doors. At the
council o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ffices
an elderly lady asked my assistance to help her down the steep </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">teps.
At least I think that's what she asked me, and she was happy enough
to take my arm to the roadway b</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">elow</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
The building was a former </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">onvent
with a central </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ourtyard
and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">loisters.
We walk</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ed</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in and nobody stopped us. Built against the side of a huge </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ld
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">c</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hurch
it was a tranquil, pleasant place to shelter from the interminable
rain.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxVvKW7_5Fx-fCyfu21TanwBGmHpEaJDrWNVoSQOR8QgGCZES6gh9EzMfLKIiFMHA0NZA7h-SazXNOWPAw3OUXCjjC3sDDqjxL8aeCpTkjDkf4gV0xshiz4MoReGtxzjO-xhByLhvvatD-ntxdmrRopnSaFed1O26oRrDuoTTbc-k1XJPDQ/s3500/900-30-Sineu.JPG" style="font-family: times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2404" data-original-width="3500" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxVvKW7_5Fx-fCyfu21TanwBGmHpEaJDrWNVoSQOR8QgGCZES6gh9EzMfLKIiFMHA0NZA7h-SazXNOWPAw3OUXCjjC3sDDqjxL8aeCpTkjDkf4gV0xshiz4MoReGtxzjO-xhByLhvvatD-ntxdmrRopnSaFed1O26oRrDuoTTbc-k1XJPDQ/s320/900-30-Sineu.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Sineu. Nostra Senyora de los Angeles</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Back
at the foot of the </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">h</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ill
below the town, everywhere was flooded. How could we have considered
this a dry landscape just two days ago? Fields and roads are
waterlogged and dried up rivers are now in full </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">pate.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />We
left Sineu and headed off to Sancelles, again on a hilltop rising
from the plain - most of the towns seem to be on hill tops. They are
old, a quaint maze of little cobbled streets in yellow stone
surrounded by orchards and dry stone walls. They are very attractive,
and each is a joy to visit. We never expected to discover such gems
in this tourist isle.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />There
isn't a lot in Sancelles but it made a pleasant walk around its clean
streets. The rain had temporarily ceased. The church was surrounded
by date palms, olive trees and even orange trees heavy with unripe
fruit. There is a restaurant, a pub, a repair workshop for cars, a
hardware store and a small general store. Local people find time to
chat together and there is a very pleasant atmosphere.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times;">We
continued our cross-country peregrinations to Binissalem, the centre
of the Mallorca wine growing area. We were disappointed not to see
much evidence of this, just a few vineyards around the town and one
commercial outlet, where the locals seem to purchase it in five litre
plastic cans. As we walked through the narrow streets towards the
church we got splattered with mud from every passing vehicle
splashing into deep potholes where the rain had washed away the
tarmac. Just as the rain recommend in deadly earnest we passed the
bakers in the Carrer de la Concepcion with seating for coffee and
cake. As the rains down we drank really nice coffee and ate savoury
pastries while reading the local paper. Today's was all about a
series of Monty Python films to be shown in Palma to celebrate thirty
years of the Monty Python cult. It starts with “La Vida de Brian”.
I'm not sure if the article was written in Catalan or Castilian; they
are different from each other when seeing them side by side on
official notices, but both are equally easy (or difficult) to
understand. Basically we've decided if there are x's in it is
Catalan. We got everything we asked for correctly so we feel quite
proud of ourselves. I even asked for a jug of hot water as my coffee
was too strong and Ian discussed the filling of his quiche and asked
where the loos were. It’s proving much harder to communicate and
understand written text however.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicC6vHYnX3JnluCs6p7De-jisnAyPatghSuBiZLRLCQZavE6GA_ulBhwC6JPFP3f7DTRW0m1ugD7K3YZ6cjM-NZ7CzTYci20S8yXfE6nHRi8U07WeHGHxCXi8YTnpEFH9G97W4fpnCwH778Ora5i4sgMlRZS4CRz69KNrCPOo9-hU_PsAB-A/s1280/910-A29-Binissalem.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="553" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicC6vHYnX3JnluCs6p7De-jisnAyPatghSuBiZLRLCQZavE6GA_ulBhwC6JPFP3f7DTRW0m1ugD7K3YZ6cjM-NZ7CzTYci20S8yXfE6nHRi8U07WeHGHxCXi8YTnpEFH9G97W4fpnCwH778Ora5i4sgMlRZS4CRz69KNrCPOo9-hU_PsAB-A/s320/910-A29-Binissalem.JPG" width="138" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Binissallem. Wine label</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: times;">We
left Binissalem and drove in the rain along flooded country roads
that wound their way across the plain at the foot of the huge jagged
forebidding mountains of the Sierra de Tramuntana, threading amongst
orchards of citrus fruits and pomegranates, past huge golden walled,
orange-tiled farmsteads. This is the real Mallorca that we have
finally managed to track down.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />We
turned off at Mancor, a nice little town of narrow streets, up to the
Ermita de Santa Lucia, set very high on the top of a nearby limestone
outcrop reached by a series of hairpin bends. The place seemed
deserted when we arrived in the rain but voices could be heard from
within the monastery which is huge, with rows of shuttered windows
and doors. From the steps we could look down and across to the town
of Inca. In the foreground the nearer hills have been terraced though
they seem now to have been abandoned - so it's not only in South
America that Inca terraces can be seen. There were excellent views to
surrounding hills and down into the valleys with the many trees
mainly holm oaks with their leaves changing even here into autumn
colours. Heavy rain clouds unfortunately blotted out most of the
views. They also decided to discharge themselves just as we were
about to descend the mountain. Unpleasant on a narrow, steep road
with potholes, no safety barriers, and hairpin bends.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZEP7dUbwoFmCRrPR9kw9QnNfY9YdWrsD_7qMfqnc_oCVviOwnMEUVQebpeZ6WrfH3_4nqJlkcn7I-DJ6uknkBIUonYwMTqwlSlpvibUyIolwULymmVcjwQp9UqS-95zhh5j_LTAXVejRq8lPqQp4idMrMV-5872xr65LePvrkue-w9WpIg/s1280/900-32-Mancor.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1280" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZEP7dUbwoFmCRrPR9kw9QnNfY9YdWrsD_7qMfqnc_oCVviOwnMEUVQebpeZ6WrfH3_4nqJlkcn7I-DJ6uknkBIUonYwMTqwlSlpvibUyIolwULymmVcjwQp9UqS-95zhh5j_LTAXVejRq8lPqQp4idMrMV-5872xr65LePvrkue-w9WpIg/s320/900-32-Mancor.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Mancor. View from <span style="text-align: justify;">Ermita de Santa Lucia</span> towards Inca.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0zCIcjCWVR9BVXJVlzZeBKzqgj9h51eOHwqFTi3GwlR-vdHW3TUOj1zPQ_Po_1zwXCjBgflZ_IJDSvnLcVZnHK6sd_Lyuwmna5_PWNIQZSCggWA0fnDcvY6XxkhEhPbTGIxVaQNOtz0nFXBwu7yMcVa47bZqSeq7SWKf9-G_jl624TofsA/s1280/900-33-Mancor.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="859" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0zCIcjCWVR9BVXJVlzZeBKzqgj9h51eOHwqFTi3GwlR-vdHW3TUOj1zPQ_Po_1zwXCjBgflZ_IJDSvnLcVZnHK6sd_Lyuwmna5_PWNIQZSCggWA0fnDcvY6XxkhEhPbTGIxVaQNOtz0nFXBwu7yMcVa47bZqSeq7SWKf9-G_jl624TofsA/s320/900-33-Mancor.JPG" width="215" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Mancor. View from <span style="text-align: justify;">Ermita de Santa Lucia.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBPAfrHTQd1DL3hcxmgrqC39lRD3CKDLzfCcbdBwgMxAP8dSxFGWkQfXm8htRG8bLDiLfkwgqbYVF8KjPjZBLcCnXoPxIE9dhqK5Qh9U3sS8RJTUuIzF8Lu_e6cYdbaVvDoANrMmKgSOX0eChErPzvkck_DSPziEezm3dpeBf7UIEqIhgUA/s1280/900-34-Mancor.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBPAfrHTQd1DL3hcxmgrqC39lRD3CKDLzfCcbdBwgMxAP8dSxFGWkQfXm8htRG8bLDiLfkwgqbYVF8KjPjZBLcCnXoPxIE9dhqK5Qh9U3sS8RJTUuIzF8Lu_e6cYdbaVvDoANrMmKgSOX0eChErPzvkck_DSPziEezm3dpeBf7UIEqIhgUA/s320/900-34-Mancor.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Mancor. <span style="text-align: justify;">Ermita de Santa Lucia.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: times;">Time
was beginning to press so we drove up into the mountains, following
the twisting route between Caimari and Lluc climbing up through
Aleppo pines and occasional palm, wild olives and carobs, through
very inhospitable terrain of jagged severe grey limestone where a few
goats and black buzzards seemed the only creatures able to survive.
The road was twisting with a series of hairpin bends permanently
awash with a river of water that had fallen higher up and flooded
down onto the road. The surface was good however with ample room to
pass oncoming vehicles. The Sierra de Tramuntana at close quarters
reminds me very much indeed of the limestone mountains of the Jura
except that there the pines are sapins, there is less deciduous
woodland, the sheer mountain sides are a series of flat-topped
plateaus, and the valley floors are covered in vineyards rather than
olives and citrus fruit.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />The
Monastery of Lluc nestles in a dip in the hills at the end of a spur
road. By the extensive car park, full of puddles and largely
deserted, was an interpretation centre of the natural history and
geology of the Tramuntana, including a section of the ferrereta, the
midwife toad, threatened by introduced species. The entrance to the
imposing monastery was nearby with covered walkways off which the
cells opened, leading to the main complex, a dark baroque chapel
housing the deeply venerated sandstone statue of the Virgin and
Child, supposedly found by a shepherd named Lluc (Luke) in the 13th
century which miraculously made its way back to the spot where it was
discovered and the sanctuary was built. There was a well presented
display on the history and work of the Monastery, including the Choir
School, founded in the 16th century whose blue-robed choir boys sing
services everyday. The atmosphere of contemplation was shattered
rudely by a group of French visitors who had been too well
entertained at the refectory and were making their noisy and unsteady
way back to the coaches. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWy3Z5gfWTjbZpdmitayXZFid6FeE0Aw0fAWZdg4llqrN-f5by9ugYYxolKifs2Wk5TP5bPHHHMJnYu3jP3rrifnjq5wOpZGUDl6mZSvl3GDrY8TzWjn6Z47yyoXmmt_dlMaPvqeVjEMw-nwEtClngthTkEg-Yylssc_7Muvgrv14jDsscw/s1280/900-35-Lluc.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWy3Z5gfWTjbZpdmitayXZFid6FeE0Aw0fAWZdg4llqrN-f5by9ugYYxolKifs2Wk5TP5bPHHHMJnYu3jP3rrifnjq5wOpZGUDl6mZSvl3GDrY8TzWjn6Z47yyoXmmt_dlMaPvqeVjEMw-nwEtClngthTkEg-Yylssc_7Muvgrv14jDsscw/s320/900-35-Lluc.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Lluc. Monastery. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijzRggJJ4amKZgUIsz6LndrnDu5eq6yI7ZPILC9yR47cu0cNuB6tvdMQKryCUoorUg3rNXz5A_4PHBPJptA70iIepcJoqXSfwgUf8HC-7nROUBNUpjL1OOxR7o31XholcPRJdUVXBwvQwueLzHZS49bwBS0WUbsixyNv3vZPr63WqHp_fpQ/s1280/900-37c-Lluc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijzRggJJ4amKZgUIsz6LndrnDu5eq6yI7ZPILC9yR47cu0cNuB6tvdMQKryCUoorUg3rNXz5A_4PHBPJptA70iIepcJoqXSfwgUf8HC-7nROUBNUpjL1OOxR7o31XholcPRJdUVXBwvQwueLzHZS49bwBS0WUbsixyNv3vZPr63WqHp_fpQ/s320/900-37c-Lluc.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Lluc. Monastery. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqq_16dFTzZBMx_RhlYxDgV6K7JNHV3248dsw9NTS2neukOiOd39o6zo8jv9cpARFHmNJMq7xEGo6kgxnTuku4KDGSqM9YLWOg_xmw3x5h9c1hlg8hvvG6xlUFzYVMRepWHirANuV-cncFR_7WbyhvC-ymkKGNbAmsdeF70l57lVKn7kZVA/s1280/900-36-Lluc.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqq_16dFTzZBMx_RhlYxDgV6K7JNHV3248dsw9NTS2neukOiOd39o6zo8jv9cpARFHmNJMq7xEGo6kgxnTuku4KDGSqM9YLWOg_xmw3x5h9c1hlg8hvvG6xlUFzYVMRepWHirANuV-cncFR_7WbyhvC-ymkKGNbAmsdeF70l57lVKn7kZVA/s320/900-36-Lluc.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Lluc. View from the Way of the Rosary.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQnGNlYRUgNIuV9HwmZg-oYf7XNUcFZxsizX9JBZ-c3g7VfNnxRSR3yC3N-n2Hq3ANo5aDjgcSo5h_JndwAP4TD_0OHLL8rgXx-zRa9O6kHX5TNy8x9-5nzE0EYitr-w7b6lwBsdSsgnY-MGALwfNYhPt08mAE2zYH9Mnk0zJlgL0cKFdSA/s1280/900-37a-Lluc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQnGNlYRUgNIuV9HwmZg-oYf7XNUcFZxsizX9JBZ-c3g7VfNnxRSR3yC3N-n2Hq3ANo5aDjgcSo5h_JndwAP4TD_0OHLL8rgXx-zRa9O6kHX5TNy8x9-5nzE0EYitr-w7b6lwBsdSsgnY-MGALwfNYhPt08mAE2zYH9Mnk0zJlgL0cKFdSA/s320/900-37a-Lluc.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Lluc. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_IKnHCe3y_GnLtIFwAvUoM0Fta7tC9em4T3NtX1GkZubGEvBJxefTrI2QEAQkOeC2NDiu5OWg9gDdUNvUiG-gmJ6GK_LFWUGm8kPiupRWZ-3V3I470gmDA5M2QLwlXapsKLTIvojVrAVEFvv1ra3CQwfHWpKjlORodmhvZaMcYgz01bY4Q/s1280/900-37b-Lluc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1280" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_IKnHCe3y_GnLtIFwAvUoM0Fta7tC9em4T3NtX1GkZubGEvBJxefTrI2QEAQkOeC2NDiu5OWg9gDdUNvUiG-gmJ6GK_LFWUGm8kPiupRWZ-3V3I470gmDA5M2QLwlXapsKLTIvojVrAVEFvv1ra3CQwfHWpKjlORodmhvZaMcYgz01bY4Q/s320/900-37b-Lluc.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Lluc.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: times;">We took advantage of a break in the rain to
follow the Way of the Rosary, a stepped path through the rocks and
shrubs leading above the Monastery to a series of monuments and
sculptures and a magnificent view over the next valley with a road
snaking down the side of the hill to terraces and meadows far below
the cloud topped mountains. Then a quick dash across the courtyard to
avoid the next downpour into the well laid out museum, although
captions could have been more informative. It displayed
archaeological finds from Talayotic burials in the region, Greek
shipwrecks and Roman sites, also some of the many often bizarre
offerings to the Virgin - what would she do with a fan or walking
sticks? There was furniture, costumes, pictures many clearly of
Mallorca but tantalisingly uncaptioned, a special exhibition of
mediaeval crosses in all materials, Limoges enamel, even pages from
manuscripts. There was an extensive collection of ceramics of all
kinds, from hurriedly decorated bowls to more finally finished pieces
of maiolica, but the poor weather and advancing time meant we had to
leave it and return to the car to pursue the winding route, often
covered by streams of water flowing off the jagged limestone rocks,
down from the Tramuntana to Pollença then turning south to Sa Pobla
and along by Albufeira to Alcudia Pins.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QFwlcg1p7yo_uYajHqdYhsAM7HwUXYuxwndIS6e42PU8Ge0Koa5SkiqB31kNtQ2rdaeZdFa4LwyrIunM8UEoKTLbZ-hytXA9ojZbFO8l9gcp2x7MPrSQxoNkbqMz6NHgU1GQr9SW4AKaFlbpVqcQVgLXTXihtQms2DdswxmUdCBej4dUfw/s1280/900-37-Lluc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QFwlcg1p7yo_uYajHqdYhsAM7HwUXYuxwndIS6e42PU8Ge0Koa5SkiqB31kNtQ2rdaeZdFa4LwyrIunM8UEoKTLbZ-hytXA9ojZbFO8l9gcp2x7MPrSQxoNkbqMz6NHgU1GQr9SW4AKaFlbpVqcQVgLXTXihtQms2DdswxmUdCBej4dUfw/s320/900-37-Lluc.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Lluc. Our car and driver during a break in the rain.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: times;">The
continuing bad weather limited us to a quick dash to the beachside
restaurant we had visited the previous night, where the harassed but
polite English waitress served us with spaghetti carbonara - not very
imaginative but the atmosphere was cheerful, and there was no
prospect of more authentic cuisine in this tourist enclave. It was
windy but dry when we emerged - too full as we had pigged ourselves
with peanuts in our room, to which we now returned after a quick
glance in the entertainment centre where people in sequin tops sat
around tables and very little seem to be happening - a shame that so
many people's holidays have been affected by the weather.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-60498930943761056792023-01-20T15:16:00.002+00:002023-01-20T15:24:56.625+00:00Mallorca 2003. Deluge the first.<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><b><span style="font-family: times;">Introduction. </span></b></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">Jill's account of our wet week in Mallorca was edited directly from her manuscript, largely using speech to text software and with little editing, so as to preserve the immediacy of her impressions. The images were mostly rephotographed from those taken on film by Ian at the time, and the quality leaves something to be desired. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbf2fal6EfvBCeTuTkqcTtpuOS-v8o4j1170BJAZuLIyXzM6c1-rkwAA2LfXD9qQYPocaXNplxWyP_VihBc8vW9Jq9bJdYc1iGlrWNEW-p2DojZ1QbaNqIbUfKU7c-BPeKl7KYf9rFDBRAezeTsnflecMH4tbO5U8hlPvOTCVwsOlmZOPLFw/s1280/MALLORCA-MAP.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1280" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbf2fal6EfvBCeTuTkqcTtpuOS-v8o4j1170BJAZuLIyXzM6c1-rkwAA2LfXD9qQYPocaXNplxWyP_VihBc8vW9Jq9bJdYc1iGlrWNEW-p2DojZ1QbaNqIbUfKU7c-BPeKl7KYf9rFDBRAezeTsnflecMH4tbO5U8hlPvOTCVwsOlmZOPLFw/w640-h502/MALLORCA-MAP.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Friday 10 October 2003</span></b></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
Tomorrow Ian and I fly to Mallorca from Exeter for a week. It is the
first time that we have visited the Balearics but, as our visit to
Tenerife proved so successful, we are prepared to accept that not all
of Mallorca will be given over to the young extroverts with their
brash music, beach parties and heavy drinking. Indeed, we have had
many assurances that the island is very beautiful with attractive old
villages and friendly people. <span style="text-align: left;">We will not know where we will be staying until we arrive but hope
very strongly that we will have similar good fortune to that in
Tenerife.</span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;">
<span style="font-family: times;"><b>S</b><b>unday 12 October 2003</b></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
We are mow in Mallorca in the north-east, staying in a resort called
Alcudia Pins, near the S'Albufera nature reserve for bird life. We
discovered that Albufera comes from the Arabic word for lagoon. That
would explain Albufera in Portugal, which we discovered last year
where, like here, there were salt marshes inland, behind the resort.
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
Actually, at the moment, it all seems rather boring here. Since our
arrival last night, we have seen nothing of the country except the
route across the island from Palma, which seems flat and
uninteresting though well-built and clean. The same applies to the
endless blocks of tourist accommodation, all very uninspiring but
clean and of good quality.
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
After a delay leaving Exeter, we were promptly told off for drinking
our own wine on board the plane. It wasn't allowed! The bottles they
were serving on board for one person were larger than the little
decanted plastic bottle we had brought with us, so it seemed pretty
silly, but I suppose is a reflection on the trouble they have had
with some holidaymakers in the past. At least if they sell it, they
can regulate the quantity people can consume. Nice to be regarded as
the ones who are potential troublemakers on a flight to Mallorca!
Although we had opted not to have the in-flight meal and thus saved
£20, we were served it anyway. We pointed out that we had not paid
for it, but were assured that they were for everyone, so I'm glad we
didn't pay, otherwise I'd have been very cross!
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
On landing and learning where we would be staying, we were told we
would have to pay an "ecotax" of a Euro each a day to the
hotel. As we had been assured that the price we paid included
everything, there may have to be an argument with Airtours/Apollo
when we get back. Not a large tax and not unreasonable but it goes
against the principle of what was agreed with the company at the time
of booking.
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
It's fairly quiet at this hotel – quiet being synonymous with
monotonous and rather uninspiring. It's all in its own cocoon,
with on-site supermarkets, beaches, pools, pubs and restaurants.
However at eleven at night we were eyed oddly going to a deserted bar
for a beer - and that was on a Saturday night. It must be a certain
type of holidaymaker that can be content to hang around the site
doing nothing for a week. We have not spoken to any local people at
all since arriving and the piped TV is all in English with German
subtitles. It is nearly all gyrating youngsters in bright skimpy
clothing dancing to thumping techno music. Hey, folks, we're getting
old. We want something more interesting.
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
Well, off to discover the joys of the local supermarket – marmite,
corn flakes, and baked beans, I expect - also to see if we can hire a
car to escape from here.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: times;">Later the same day 7:30 p.m.</span></b></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
Well, we did! We have a little Opel until Thursday evening which we
hired from the hotel for 120 Euros – I think that's about £15.00 a
day fully comprehensive. It's OK and it was a great relief to escape
from the weird place with its tannoyed pop music. We went to the
Airtours official welcome here this morning, but it was so
toe-curling we had to leave. We were given free orange juice and were
obliged to shout ¡Hola! to the staff three times, as if it were a
children's panto, then shown a video of all the amazing things to do
at Alcudia Pins – like lie on the beach, eat ice creams, lounge by
the pool, enjoy the bar, then discover the night club, or just relax
on the balcony with the piped techno music to help you really enjoy
yourself. Be prepared to leave your brain in the UK if you ever take
a package tour to Mallorca. The amazing thing is, most people seem to
enjoy it. It was when the egghead Humpty Dumpty figure got on to the
stage to talk about the things for the little ones – the bouncy
castle, the bicycles for hire and the afternoon shows, that we
finally cracked and left. We asked reception how we could hire a car.
When? they asked. Immediately! we screamed. Never have we handed over
our Euros so willingly. I never realised how weird we are. Everyone
else seems so happy and although it is something one should
experience once, we find it all so boring. Once we got used to the
car, our day was transformed, and we discovered real people, real
little towns - real life in fact.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
Our first stop was at Muro, a rambling old town of rather dilapidated
large old stone houses. We climbed up to the top of the town with its
huge, golden stone Romanesque church surrounded by bright green date
palms. In the square a Sunday market was taking place and local
people were chatting cheerfully to each other in Catalan, a cross
between Spanish and French. We couldn't understand what we overheard,
but it definitely sounded different from Castilian Spanish. <span style="text-align: left;">A woman was making doughnuts in hot oil by the roadside, so we bought
a couple. Very greasy, but we were hungry. The town is very pleasant
with many bars and cafes with people sitting on the terraces with
post-mass beers, watching the world go by.</span></span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
We went into the church, cool and bright gold; gold stonework and
gilded metalwork. The statues were dressed in white satin, as is
always the case in Spanish churches, it seems but, before we could
really look, we were thrown out by the priest locking the great
wooden doors after mass.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
We never discovered the ethnological museum of Mallorca and,
realising it would be closed as everything is during the afternoon,
we retraced our route to the car and continued through surprisingly
green countryside, quite thickly covered with pines, palms and
cactuses, pockmarked with innumerable stone quarries to Art<span>á</span>
via Santa Margalida.
</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
The latter seemed a clean, pleasant town with large, well-maintained
old buildings, rendered and colour-washed in cream, cinnamon or
sienna with dark green shutters closed against the noise of the
streets and the heat of the day – which has been warm and sunny,
but not particularly hot.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
Art<span>á</span> is also worth a
visit. We have had no trouble in parking anywhere today and nowhere
has been crowded. Indeed, once away from the tourist resorts, the
roads and countryside are quite empty.</span></p><p>
</p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
It was around two in the afternoon when we found our way on foot to
the town centre and its open square. We found a pizza restaurant
where we were obliged to communicate in German as the friendly waiter
insisted on speaking to us in that language, ignoring our efforts to
speak Spanish. He never did realise we were English! After a couple
of pizzas, a beer for Ian and chilled water for me, consumed on a
shady terrace, watching the German tourists, we felt revived. It is
strange how different the towns favoured by the Germans are from
those haunted by the English. I think the Germans have better taste!</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQaYY9fdtj0Z64mykS8oBJa6bkcAuJt3lLqiTILfGYqy4xtlqMM2O8ug81llPKcJjYFori0ZAWAgTKvpFY3TmMcuXoLV6d5BLRKLsHMfjfL6V8TO5OUrINbxs8oiVUFW1gQQ9ewI64ZS-9AHbYY_kRLeigatzyZRpZ8aF34R170qvGRzidA/s1280/900-10-Arta.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1280" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQaYY9fdtj0Z64mykS8oBJa6bkcAuJt3lLqiTILfGYqy4xtlqMM2O8ug81llPKcJjYFori0ZAWAgTKvpFY3TmMcuXoLV6d5BLRKLsHMfjfL6V8TO5OUrINbxs8oiVUFW1gQQ9ewI64ZS-9AHbYY_kRLeigatzyZRpZ8aF34R170qvGRzidA/s320/900-10-Arta.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Art</span><span style="text-align: left;">á</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9m_z20cZIwXrpJnCyQfl_EEQV0V_tZeKgnGo45bjopNKofc-pcUtBlGQQskn2Q49CiN6zcN6qlyjO4kxg_Oy-E9m3-FQMMnqWWFxnx9-u34HExW0m0RlTLpBs9WBPv2sg9K6mEz48GVIDItZLsqWUxCMWBTm7L2kQ_E9ZWCyQCf7DD9bxg/s1280/900-11-Arta.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1280" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9m_z20cZIwXrpJnCyQfl_EEQV0V_tZeKgnGo45bjopNKofc-pcUtBlGQQskn2Q49CiN6zcN6qlyjO4kxg_Oy-E9m3-FQMMnqWWFxnx9-u34HExW0m0RlTLpBs9WBPv2sg9K6mEz48GVIDItZLsqWUxCMWBTm7L2kQ_E9ZWCyQCf7DD9bxg/s320/900-11-Arta.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Art</span><span style="text-align: left;">á</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakh6YREEr-H9tinYLrRSa5i4IAOoLS5kKvAvIkPgmXKoX1w0oNsG3AeJPJhI8eZ2GBPZXoUbVd-obHBrnXxXkwmvIlsS7vr-uVR69e9SkFjs0aksymzqwWb-o7tR4TqyuZJKT49gZf2lqs6G04cXcEMeL273pDa4r2gdd0rf30UbzpsU2cg/s1254/900-12-Arta.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="870" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakh6YREEr-H9tinYLrRSa5i4IAOoLS5kKvAvIkPgmXKoX1w0oNsG3AeJPJhI8eZ2GBPZXoUbVd-obHBrnXxXkwmvIlsS7vr-uVR69e9SkFjs0aksymzqwWb-o7tR4TqyuZJKT49gZf2lqs6G04cXcEMeL273pDa4r2gdd0rf30UbzpsU2cg/s320/900-12-Arta.JPG" width="222" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Art</span><span style="text-align: left;">á</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">So we made our way ever upwards to the citadel overlooking the
wonderful patchwork of brown and rust tiled roofs of the old town
below. It was most pleasant and very impressive up there with views
down onto the town and across the surrounding sierra of rugged hills.
At one point we could glimpse the sea to the south through a gap in
the hills. The sun shone on the white limestone crenelated walls of
the citadel, green palm trees towered up from its courtyards, old
stone steps led up to it, shaded by cypress trees. Indeed a most
pleasant site.</span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qN5Jq6DJ3tx5yT2a9pZBBmxv3V0tSwPZvBpT4n2NrCUQV3knk2IR8BtFAK2xkbDXYc3ZV62Owd3h5MfsPu9MWe9ut6JFTGUABDzWEJGdHltOKaKfOwfwMsWc8G2F2sD0yyw5SNe8EF6RQwX5AtSD5wSEYsZTml_09GjH85Z-u7Be-UJcPQ/s1280/900-13-Arta.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="1280" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qN5Jq6DJ3tx5yT2a9pZBBmxv3V0tSwPZvBpT4n2NrCUQV3knk2IR8BtFAK2xkbDXYc3ZV62Owd3h5MfsPu9MWe9ut6JFTGUABDzWEJGdHltOKaKfOwfwMsWc8G2F2sD0yyw5SNe8EF6RQwX5AtSD5wSEYsZTml_09GjH85Z-u7Be-UJcPQ/s320/900-13-Arta.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Art</span><span style="text-align: left;">á</span></span></div><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> We have both been very impressed with the cleanliness of Mallorca so
far – no graffiti, no rubbish, no rubble of half-finished and
abandoned speculative building. Everything everywhere is of excellent
quality and, in its way, tastefully done. We have great respect for
the way in which the local authorities have coped with the tourist
trade, managing to please both the local community (who benefit
greatly, having the highest per capita income in Spain) and the
majority of tourists who manage to have brilliant holidays in the
resorts along the coast, without impacting on the interior of the
island.</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
We entered the church, where they have real candles for prayer rather
than the electric ones Ian so enjoyed in Tenerife and Seville. One
young lady was frenziedly rushing around leaving money at the foot of
every statue and running her hands in a demented manner over each
statue and painting. Such behaviour is verging on fanaticism.</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
Leaving the web of little old streets and houses reluctantly behind,
we retraced our steps to the car and continued to San Serra de
Marina, a resort on the east coast still in the process of
development. Those buildings that have been completed are superb.
Well constructed, rendered and colour washed in whites, creams,
oranges and siennas, with red tiled roofs, they are definitely aimed
at the upper end of the tourist market. There is a marina full of
expensive craft and a few chic restaurants are beginning to appear.
It will be a very nice development when it is finished.</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
And so to Ca'o Picafort where we stopped on the main parade of shops
and hotels and walked down to the marina and along the endless
promenade of restaurants, cafes and bars selling their products in
German, English and Danish. Tourists sauntered along or sat on
terraces enjoying Kaffee und Kuchen or tea and cake – usually
strawberry gateau with ice cream. There was a pleasant laid-back
atmosphere and everyone seemed happy. There was no sign of the sort
of trouble that the news reports lead one to expect from Mallorcan
beach resorts. Indeed the majority of visitors seemed of retirement
age. It was all a great deal more interesting than the resort where
we are obliged to stay and to which we returned about 6.30 to avoid
driving in the dark.</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">We parked, and while I have been writing this up we have been
drinking Spanish wine and Ian has been preparing our trip out for
tomorrow. Feeling suitably relaxed, we had better face the music
(literally) and see if we can find anything for supper before they
shut everything up around 10.30.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Monday 13 October 2003</span></b></div>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">So we went to the typically Catalan Keller an der Ecke for supper. It
was actually quite pleasant, and reasonable value although it lacked
any sort of atmosphere or authenticity. Ian had zwei Bockwurst mit
Pommes frites, while I tried to go ethnic with solomillo de cerdo,
ending up with a pork fillet, jacket potato and salad, nicely served
with a couple of cervezas by a pleasant waiter who indulgently
permitted us to attempt to communicate in his language. As a reward
at the end he gave us a couple of tiny glasses of green liquid which
he said was a digestive. They certainly warmed the cockles of our
hearts.</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">Then I dragged a reluctant Ian to see Naughty Nigel in his scarlet
suit putting on a free show to entertain the tourists. A crowd of
kids helped him with a brassy rendition of Naughty Nigel had a farm.
Then, with the same kids watching, he brought on his ventriloquist's
dummy lookalike and continued in a crude and almost obscene vein,
quite unsuitable for the young audience. It was interesting to see
how everyone had dressed smartly for the evening, the women in frilly
skirts and high heels. Ian disappeared for a quick vomit in the
swimming pool because the tackiness of it all nauseated him, but I
found it quite culturally interesting. However we felt pretty tired
and a little of Nigel was more than enough for us, so we left and
fell promptly asleep once back in our room.</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> This morning we made a fairly late start, setting off about ten. Our
first stop was Alcudia, the old town enclosed by city walls. The town
dates back to Arab times but has been considerably rebuilt. Most of
the walls survive. Within, the buildings are all beautifully restored
and immaculately clean. They are of course a tourist honeypot, and
justifiably so. They are spotless, almost clinically clean and smart
with their honey coloured stone walls. Everywhere however are
endless miles of electricity cables and telephone cables. It's a
horrid Spanish habit to festoon the facades of beautiful buildings
with cables that could quite easily be hidden from view. Local
vehicles make war way through the cramped streets, managing to
negotiate impossibly tight corners. Many of the stone fronted houses
have pots of aspidistras or orange trees outside. It all looks
wonderfully attractive and the shady narrow streets are pleasant to
stroll around on a hot day. Unfortunately there were far too many
English and German tourists. I know we are all part of it but I feel
we are simply an item on the production line and I prefer to feel
attached in some way to the community within which we temporarily
find ourselves.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEn935mV7aAq7iXuEJVQmZ30O-YrCMMl2wiGhgzc9uSacGeGrOE77HQ4ZPvBm_CiiQpNiqIpEhMVh_eXLyslrKyNt7y8ZbFoF1V3G72SgfwwH5hrRgD1E2ooj82hUTMMMb5YwvE3igSss_6CGp1EFxR1dIseG19hd32OCqaO8dPQwp_RAIQ/s1280/900-14-Alcudia.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1280" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEn935mV7aAq7iXuEJVQmZ30O-YrCMMl2wiGhgzc9uSacGeGrOE77HQ4ZPvBm_CiiQpNiqIpEhMVh_eXLyslrKyNt7y8ZbFoF1V3G72SgfwwH5hrRgD1E2ooj82hUTMMMb5YwvE3igSss_6CGp1EFxR1dIseG19hd32OCqaO8dPQwp_RAIQ/s320/900-14-Alcudia.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Alcudia. Gateway</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wpxwzRQahl1lu6ZGO9rSX3N2aAARm-SX73VaYXl95xTV9y-flbwx1q9yatEqi6zgop7_4LLO-fKTGaNp6IvRO7RmcgftSmko6CIza4YXAFZWrVihCNebBTibp9S088FyIoJ4FrdmsIwzxDSvS90M_BzMq5hGAe32uxTxsCP6wEdrL7-xow/s1280/900-15-Alcudia.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1280" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wpxwzRQahl1lu6ZGO9rSX3N2aAARm-SX73VaYXl95xTV9y-flbwx1q9yatEqi6zgop7_4LLO-fKTGaNp6IvRO7RmcgftSmko6CIza4YXAFZWrVihCNebBTibp9S088FyIoJ4FrdmsIwzxDSvS90M_BzMq5hGAe32uxTxsCP6wEdrL7-xow/s320/900-15-Alcudia.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Alcudia. Street scene.</span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">Naturally Monday is the day when the museum, the library, the
archives, and the Roman City of Pollentia were closed – how does
the whole of Europe know exactly which day the Maxteds are coming?
So Ian peered longingly over the wall that at a site of six inch high
walls and lamented his ill luck.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
So we drove on to Pollen<span>ç</span>a
and parked on the outskirts (parking has been no problem anywhere)
beneath a hermitage set high on the hill. We entered the town past
an attractive convent with its garden full figs, bananas, citrus
fruits and bright flowers (hibiscus perhaps) which currently houses
of town museum - closed on Mondays of course.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
A small square held a book sculpture, strangely contorted all olive
trees and the large flamboyant statute of one of the medieval Kings.
The town is another tourist honeypot but very pleasant nonetheless.
From the main square we made our way through the shady narrow streets
to the foot of the 365 steps up to the church and Calvary overlooking
the town. After Sri Lanka, this was a piece of cake. Keeping to the
shade of the cypress trees lining the steps, we positively scampered
to the top, passing beautiful stone villas on either side which
appear to be owned by wealthy British or German expats.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
From the top we were afforded wonderful views down over the roofs of
the old town and across to the grey, arid limestone crags and
Formentor Peninsula. To the right we could see the cliffs that ended
in Cap de Pinar beyond Alcudia. A pleasant whitewashed chapel at the
top of the steps offered calm welcome change from the bright
sunlight. I found it very pleasant, with several paintings around
the whitewashed walls. However, it seems I have absolutely no taste,
as I've since read in the <i>Rough guide</i> that the paintings are
the most tasteless religious paintings imaginable! A couple may have
been less well executed than the rest, but I think it's a far too
severe criticism.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZB3Uk0OvlKxDquc-8vD-DFFozhA0Gid3Sbjb0a1qDlFIc-1HnSgDT0FJjk-AWMIRFDUWrxB2xuPbFoi8SGSKV4keqM9V0Tf6SdGJL3yDJLz7dcd_8asrg9QUtPn5NBlM7NE_fQsQs8_5jQmRUCbLNH4BkB7YKg6_F90lzLGrI8nfSrziH8g/s1280/900-16-Pollenca.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1280" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZB3Uk0OvlKxDquc-8vD-DFFozhA0Gid3Sbjb0a1qDlFIc-1HnSgDT0FJjk-AWMIRFDUWrxB2xuPbFoi8SGSKV4keqM9V0Tf6SdGJL3yDJLz7dcd_8asrg9QUtPn5NBlM7NE_fQsQs8_5jQmRUCbLNH4BkB7YKg6_F90lzLGrI8nfSrziH8g/s320/900-16-Pollenca.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">Pollença. view east from top pf Calvari to Formentor </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYKZrzRmKkIPKMznUwD9jT7riRkuf6azpmtTKSX6RKzZuo-EZKt3Q9YudZv7bdBQ6Tc4wfUYPdmdhDrd2rqtIOMLnNtiu1oLjUcV8JVbNiTnyBL3UFazBmzol9WlqpwXSk15D9miJu9d7MTyXlGBqKddVV7jLLD73XzxGMP169X2I_nsa-g/s1280/900-17-Pollenca.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="868" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYKZrzRmKkIPKMznUwD9jT7riRkuf6azpmtTKSX6RKzZuo-EZKt3Q9YudZv7bdBQ6Tc4wfUYPdmdhDrd2rqtIOMLnNtiu1oLjUcV8JVbNiTnyBL3UFazBmzol9WlqpwXSk15D9miJu9d7MTyXlGBqKddVV7jLLD73XzxGMP169X2I_nsa-g/w167-h246/900-17-Pollenca.JPG" width="167" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsv10QwOwtXKhIspi8KNlFSeF9-rT2DFl3OFISm37tOBVUNuwCgwSUMd6uCaGD93jJwcst8CFYOOmfb2MiKzKyUDkpMq-vGP7ftAgNFHM2m6kJ4yUZ23sdkptSLUgaLdnIoIOSyCfnZp5ogFj8xwMI4NqjBbM7sGT31U1zsRib1L_iSbT0Q/s3166/900-18a-Pollenca.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3166" data-original-width="2353" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsv10QwOwtXKhIspi8KNlFSeF9-rT2DFl3OFISm37tOBVUNuwCgwSUMd6uCaGD93jJwcst8CFYOOmfb2MiKzKyUDkpMq-vGP7ftAgNFHM2m6kJ4yUZ23sdkptSLUgaLdnIoIOSyCfnZp5ogFj8xwMI4NqjBbM7sGT31U1zsRib1L_iSbT0Q/w182-h245/900-18a-Pollenca.JPG" width="182" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">Pollença. Two views of the Calvari steps, the right on from a postcard </span></div><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> We descended the steps and stopped to investigate the church of Monte
Sion. The local school was closing for lunch and we were assailed by
7 to 8 year olds who dared each other to talk to us. It was all
amusing but we have realised what we cannot understand the spoken
language at all despite, being able to puzzle out so much of the
written language. Mind you, the children were speaking Catalan
rather than Castilian and we've begun to realise it can be far more
different than expected. We think the children were asking us the
time, and also to put some money in an envelope for something they
were asked to collect for by their school. It was all good humoured
and caused much laughter that we couldn't understand them.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
We stopped for a healthy salad at the Cafè du Calvère. Healthy in
that it was the smallest, most uninteresting salad we have ever been
served. Each of us we received two leaves of tasteless lettuce, half
an egg, half an onion, hapf a tomato and six olives. The was it –
not even a roll. The couple of bottles of olive oil and vinegar on
the table served for dressing. It costs 5.25 euros each - appalling
value. The did order in Spanish and even the drinks were 100 per
cent correct, so we feel proud of that, but were disappointed not to
get value for money. We paid, but wrote on our bill that, while the
service had been good, the quality had been very poor, so at least we
went down fighting.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
Then Ian took me for a walk through a network of back streets in
search of a Roman bridge which, when we found it, he told me was
probably not Roman anyway. Nonetheless it was an interesting walk
through residential streets to a dried up river bed with a narrow
arched bridge across. There are many dry riverbeds in this arid
limestone country which just occasionally, at times of heavy rain,
will burst into a violent torrent, only to disappear again completely
until the next downpour. This one presumably acts as a conduit for
all the rain falling on the Sierra de Tramuntana. Beyond the bridge
was a beautiful pink white stone farmhouse with green doors and
shutters, surrounded by vineyards, orchards with sheep beneath the
foliage, and fig trees, all set against the grey, stark, rugged
backdrop of the Tramuntana and the bright blue sky.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfRKPT3-PX5H0P2DicLWXq3vVlMrsirTen0i53zfHvFaupGqILs7u7ANxVpJ2eRv6ZtratdJd0XpIXnd4r5zc48f8LXYf_d8Fudc8sjgxSwc2cHcLZ8LUUTTaxshKpoKT-_T06vfBG2M4J5iP5i55QhTAKRpuhIGf0SDu8w3S0IJzTGySlA/s1280/900-18-Pollenca.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfRKPT3-PX5H0P2DicLWXq3vVlMrsirTen0i53zfHvFaupGqILs7u7ANxVpJ2eRv6ZtratdJd0XpIXnd4r5zc48f8LXYf_d8Fudc8sjgxSwc2cHcLZ8LUUTTaxshKpoKT-_T06vfBG2M4J5iP5i55QhTAKRpuhIGf0SDu8w3S0IJzTGySlA/s320/900-18-Pollenca.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">Pollença. Pont Roma. </span></div><p></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> We retraced our steps though Pollença to our car and set off on the
route to the Formentor Peninsula, which had been attempting to lure
us all day as we gazed out from the town walls of both Alcudia and
Pollença. Grey barren mountains of limestone rising up from the
central plain, the peninisula represents the northern end of the
Sierra de Tramuntana which runs the length of the north coast of
Mallorca from Andr?? to the lighthouse at the tip of Formentor. There
was a fair number of vehicles on the narrow, twisting route. In
summer it must be a real problem, not only with passing but also with
parking at the various miradores. Neither were a hazard to us today
however, and generally the surface of the road was good, if rather
narrow on the various hairpin bends, and although certain areas had
bollards along the outside edge to prevent vehicles from plunging
over, more often than not on the inside edge of a serious bend with a
sheer drop, the safety barriers were not installed and there was no
protection until well after the dend had been navigated. The outside
edges of the roads have been broken away as there is the constant
concern for the wheels leaving the road and plunging over the edge.
The route compared easily with some of the more exposed coastal
drives we made in Corsica. We were fortunate that it was late in the
day and coaches had finished taking tours up.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;"><span style="font-family: times;">
The peninsula is well worth a visit. The first stop after driving up
by the twisting route from Porte Pollença was at the Col de Mal Pas
from where we had views back in one direction over the bay of Porte
Pollença. In the other we looked vertically down from the rugged
limestone cliff top straight into the bright clear blue sea of the
Mediterranean as it washed the northern shore of Mallorca. The rocks
were bare, contorted and weathered old grey and white limestone
typical of the entire island. This all seemed stunning enough but we
continued a further twelve kilometres along the twisting or rather
cork-screwing route out to the actual lighthouse, pausing to peep at
the Hotel Formentor which is said to be the most chic in Mallorca.
Constructed in the 1930s, the rooms have been graced by Charlie
Chaplin and his ilk. It still remains a very exclusive hotel in a
quite unique location on the edge of the majestic cliffs that
dominate the northern tip of the island. Goats roam wild on the
peninsula but have the good sense to keep well away from the road.</span></p><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2bokcm_x3x19N726vPtwc8sm_AHPZuG0hFI67Qvw3ZAxyH6StVC-G-_gLNKiIlFNc4ErrGDMOuVSma4mfuBI9l-GvyPmINnxWzF7hz5oP3XNyi1lLw5BJD9v1lSn0rs4LjbdMr-HKXnOJZrb8jTUEBSfofnFOb4PjiQJYNtOyCt37OoKgw/s1280/900-19-Formentor.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2bokcm_x3x19N726vPtwc8sm_AHPZuG0hFI67Qvw3ZAxyH6StVC-G-_gLNKiIlFNc4ErrGDMOuVSma4mfuBI9l-GvyPmINnxWzF7hz5oP3XNyi1lLw5BJD9v1lSn0rs4LjbdMr-HKXnOJZrb8jTUEBSfofnFOb4PjiQJYNtOyCt37OoKgw/s320/900-19-Formentor.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Formentor. Coll de la Creueta, view to Badia de Pollença</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJMj_0dv7KkGh7vMnm5-2G6eVpCZYttX_X80atl2b8TD1Mvt6K_7qucWew1h1aTd_nfs-iNwkT83MftapSOk80wjt6WSvJKevhiDQC7az6-IryqAeFW5WR93ckilTlDIAUDhdRFQbWgY0r-1cYbRMdEXRJNw98ZB6ZJP6C9e69rouhe1OYw/s1280/900-20-Formentor.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="866" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJMj_0dv7KkGh7vMnm5-2G6eVpCZYttX_X80atl2b8TD1Mvt6K_7qucWew1h1aTd_nfs-iNwkT83MftapSOk80wjt6WSvJKevhiDQC7az6-IryqAeFW5WR93ckilTlDIAUDhdRFQbWgY0r-1cYbRMdEXRJNw98ZB6ZJP6C9e69rouhe1OYw/s320/900-20-Formentor.JPG" width="217" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Formentor. Punta de la Salada from Coll de la Creueta.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNsESWOxBIixzDPQk5cdKEALEj6N90iyfObQ_eUXN4NgwM8rawEiEM68-syEo0epVp_vM6DPR0px9sgHfbx6DpXEWHWbs3gmSMi9TdxLF1-4aQbtwqktIngb1347zUQOGtU9YEGesTVk9VegviCw7c17fBaKY9ysKJWV3JZgNdtCavQ9amQ/s1280/900-21-Formentor.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="855" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNsESWOxBIixzDPQk5cdKEALEj6N90iyfObQ_eUXN4NgwM8rawEiEM68-syEo0epVp_vM6DPR0px9sgHfbx6DpXEWHWbs3gmSMi9TdxLF1-4aQbtwqktIngb1347zUQOGtU9YEGesTVk9VegviCw7c17fBaKY9ysKJWV3JZgNdtCavQ9amQ/s320/900-21-Formentor.JPG" width="214" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Formentor. Punta Nau from Coll de la Creueta.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPh3rhzVZujsPHyZrPxied0ngv_8DESE3RpdiMiGHeCMKA9bzVrsG6jiHAcGmq-ulDAUQwUcrnwWOn8fVhBf6YAXBqndKIH55Y-f2fm4ijNtFjLczfps-DFlfLHm-jnJD3EuLtpbppPgUdPmO2JcLkWdYrOpL2FJ3TpdLpKdYn6i-jYnsmVQ/s1280/900-22-Formentor.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1280" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPh3rhzVZujsPHyZrPxied0ngv_8DESE3RpdiMiGHeCMKA9bzVrsG6jiHAcGmq-ulDAUQwUcrnwWOn8fVhBf6YAXBqndKIH55Y-f2fm4ijNtFjLczfps-DFlfLHm-jnJD3EuLtpbppPgUdPmO2JcLkWdYrOpL2FJ3TpdLpKdYn6i-jYnsmVQ/s320/900-22-Formentor.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Formentor. El Colomer Island from Coll de la Creueta.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKD6Ka-Up1ApHu6pq6FjnjTh173cT5nHT7hYmxM7-KUcSzZZsCyMBd8uk-FShhQF9Vkb0nxD9HTuJHC4N8JRPvI2e4SkL2nhn48xAPoFwX9OZm8oIjdjyVRIemwj2m2tgv1GKrsTMy1Cn5aLSA0MrILzFmlDHhp7l4-tJhbZu-6AGAEwQQQ/s2880/900-22a-Formentor.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1724" data-original-width="2880" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKD6Ka-Up1ApHu6pq6FjnjTh173cT5nHT7hYmxM7-KUcSzZZsCyMBd8uk-FShhQF9Vkb0nxD9HTuJHC4N8JRPvI2e4SkL2nhn48xAPoFwX9OZm8oIjdjyVRIemwj2m2tgv1GKrsTMy1Cn5aLSA0MrILzFmlDHhp7l4-tJhbZu-6AGAEwQQQ/s320/900-22a-Formentor.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Formentor. General view</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNOwvss7-jb5ni2sCCvzigqFyWeDxHooPp3_Fjr8qmWuEbR5Bb4uhvBLieYeBxKRB9FWIpeHSShZqV3fm3P3zfgVGGQcaFqXcKM1utY8xyuX9zwvj2DXyRQpAVZ5LYl801UNOMLMPVHT4o5b7yYitqSEF7_uHNq8kY0PXTSYYFDyxlcdb8g/s1280/900-23-Formentor.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1280" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNOwvss7-jb5ni2sCCvzigqFyWeDxHooPp3_Fjr8qmWuEbR5Bb4uhvBLieYeBxKRB9FWIpeHSShZqV3fm3P3zfgVGGQcaFqXcKM1utY8xyuX9zwvj2DXyRQpAVZ5LYl801UNOMLMPVHT4o5b7yYitqSEF7_uHNq8kY0PXTSYYFDyxlcdb8g/s320/900-23-Formentor.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Formentor. Bay near Hotel Formentor</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXng5L6o7OTfLsXzezk7aOa34BFChCZu0E2gM739YPAOfjXj31dIUuK_mgwMQNm3qT87uMyJZUx5TKRwAgpz0nEk0z9tkX4r_swLs3T7_Rs-7_9htaM3fbp1Z8QX5GPDR1GSsdGOdJ7qS_6ghlx1wAAZdIhEnbdqPIumHd36d_hFK1ybadw/s1280/900-24-Formentor.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXng5L6o7OTfLsXzezk7aOa34BFChCZu0E2gM739YPAOfjXj31dIUuK_mgwMQNm3qT87uMyJZUx5TKRwAgpz0nEk0z9tkX4r_swLs3T7_Rs-7_9htaM3fbp1Z8QX5GPDR1GSsdGOdJ7qS_6ghlx1wAAZdIhEnbdqPIumHd36d_hFK1ybadw/s320/900-24-Formentor.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;">Formentor. Cap de Catalunya from lighthouse</span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="text-align: left;">We reached the lighthouse eventually after plunging through a tunnel
cut from the rock and descending by a series of hairpin bends and
narrowed necks of rock with the sea on either side. We had
difficulty parking - it must be impossible in summer. From here the
cliffs plunged vertically into the clear water some 750 feet below.
The bare grey limestone has been shaped and weathered by centuries of
wind and rain that had formed the rock into strange contortions.
Even here though, in the odd cranny, cactuses and palm trees have
established a tenuous hold. Back from the edge fir trees and even
oaks have become established. There are no flowers or grass however,
and the area has an atmosphere of gloom and foreboding, even on such
a warm sunny day.</span></p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;">
We stopped for petrol on the way back and then at the nature reserve
of Albefuros. It was closed but seems to be a network of footpaths
and cycle ways among acres of reed beds and wetlands that provide a
habitat for all sorts of marsh birds. We also followed the river
flowing from the reserve down to the sea, a short walk on the far
side of the road from the reserve. By now dusk was falling and
without jackets it was becoming chilly on the beach.</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;">
Back at the "boot camp" - you WILL enjoy your holiday - we
opened a bottle of very pleasant red wine, Spanish but it doesn't
seem possible to buy locally produced wine here in tourist resorts;
we will have to search some of the villages. We sat on the balcony
watching holidaymakers setting off for the evening of entertainment
in the bar. At this time it was relatively peaceful as the real
noise didn't start until around ten, but as it is mainly families and
children here, it is probably more muted than at some other resorts.</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;">
As the noise level increased we went off to find somewhere for
supper. It was impossible to find anything "ethnic" so we
opted for bar on the beach full of English folk smoking, drinking and
generally having fun. We were served the nearest thing they had to
local food, Spanish omelette with chips and salad. It was actually
rather nicely presented, ample and cheap. With a couple of beers and
loads of tapas of bread and olives, the bill was considerably less
than we paid by the meagre salad in Pollença. Being a purely
English restaurant even the staff was British, but in a strange way
it was rather pleasant observing everyone, they were all so friendly
and relaxed. It is just strange to us that this is the way so many
British folk enjoy a "foreign" holiday. Afterwards we went
down onto the beach which was completely deserted at 11.00 pm. The
sand had been cleaned and raked for tomorrow and little waves gently
lapped the shore all along the edge of the huge wide bay, lights
twinkled and shone from the myriads of hotel complexes still full of
Brits and Germans having FUN.</p>
<p align="justify" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2cm;">
Across the bay beyond the headland of the Cap de Ferrutx near Artà
the sky was permanently illuminated by flickers and flashes of
lightning as a storm approached. Sitting silently on a lounger on the
deserted beach in the darkness, it was quite atmospheric watching as
the forked flashed shot down from the sky to hit the rugged outline
of the headland. There was no sound of thunder so the storm must
still have been far out to sea.
</p><br /></span>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-64405785756499417712022-11-07T19:42:00.000+00:002022-11-07T19:42:33.635+00:00Tenerife 2002. Part 2<p> <b style="text-align: justify;">Tuesday 23 April 2002 (written on Wednesday)</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Always a day late writing up, the trouble is, we never stop. Today we realise just how fortunate we have been staying in Puerto de la Cruz rather than the more popular resorts on the south or west coasts. We went to the west coast yesterday and found it crowded and unpleasant with a searing heat, airless, and the landscape down at sea level just dry and arid, looking like an enormous building site. This is in part natural, but it is also because it actually <i>is</i> an enormous building site. Anywhere along the coast that it is possible to place blocks of flats they have done so, and are continuing at a great pace. That is not to say that the buildings are not well constructed and finished, attractive even, and offering quality accommodation. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the morning we left Puerto and followed the coast road toward the west, turning inland and fiercely uphill near Icod, following a twisting but reasonably wide and well surfaced road through little villages to Santiago del Teidi with views of the snow covered mountain behind. Here we parked beneath the fruiting orange trees lining the street and bought fig bread with sliced bananas and a couple of bottles of water. Until now the scenery had been interesting but not outstanding and there had been plenty of vegetation. Form here on however we found ourselves in the malpais or badlands of Teidi again. We appeared to be driving through the results of fairly recent volcanic activity from Teidi that had flowed so far and stopped, leaving not a speck of vegetation, just stark, black lava. This proved to be from the last eruption from Teidi in 1909 and gradually, it seemed, nature was starting to fight back, a straggling cactus here, a scrubby bush there. As the road descended it was clear that man had tried to help the process with tiny palm trees pathetically lining the roadside; otherwise there was no obvious human or animal activity. Below, as we continued our descent, we could see the south coast and the flatter plain running its length. Here speculative development vied with banana plantations for space. From our aerial view we could see acre upon acre of white plastic sheeting which, we later learned, covered banana plantations, fitted in where there was space, to protect the plants from the strong winds and bring them on to ripen quickly. On the northern side of the island we had not seen the practice of covering the whole plantation; instead hands of bananas are sometimes enclosed in plastic bags while hanging on the trees to ripen.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our reason for taking the route we did was because Ian wanted to see a particular fortified house, the former home of Tenerife brigands who carried on an illegal trade with America, dealing in sugar and slaves. They were apparently aided by Devon sea dog John Hawkins, hence Ian's interest as a local historian. It added a purpose to our trip and the little town of Adeje with its superb Barranco del Inferno (Gorge of Hell) sounded well worth visiting. However we were both shocked to discover how large the town has grown since our guidebook was written. Huge apartment blocks in gleaming pale colours stretch up the slopes on all sides of the old town. The main street is said to be lovely with a beautiful church at the top. In the event we parked at the top in the searing heat of the afternoon sun, overlooking a building site with all the attendant dust and rubble. The church was shut, as was the house Ian wished to see. Indeed it was fast becoming dilapidated from neglect and lack of interest. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56DmSCvyRYIDja9hqI_RxVi3juS0j50Z5qg_HB0vq_iumq3Q0pPYmYM4jZtXoX55DRPCetjvaDHIRoDYCc08rYBuGvRHHG5P1cN0LgRTgFr-XgNnzsltQz-H2Mq_NQPb_AVzJHj9eev1oZEICAtAl-ruXD-kM-gZOp2z_3VJy8X8AbrB8KA/s1280/770-22-Adeje.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56DmSCvyRYIDja9hqI_RxVi3juS0j50Z5qg_HB0vq_iumq3Q0pPYmYM4jZtXoX55DRPCetjvaDHIRoDYCc08rYBuGvRHHG5P1cN0LgRTgFr-XgNnzsltQz-H2Mq_NQPb_AVzJHj9eev1oZEICAtAl-ruXD-kM-gZOp2z_3VJy8X8AbrB8KA/w400-h265/770-22-Adeje.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Adeje. Casa Fuerte</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The barranco was impossible to visit in the heat which, we were warned, gathered in the gorge which was in full sunlight with no shade, but well worth a visit in more suitable weather and later in the day. The main street was pleasant but occupied all of five minutes to walk its length. We were hot, sticky and uncomfortable,so in the end joined the other tourists, some fit, sunburned but weary, having just braved the heat of the gorge, others more sedate visitors out from Playa de los Americas, seduced like us by the guidebook's outdated and over-enthusiastic eulogies about the town's attractions. We found a shady table at a street-side restaurant beneath the Indian laurels lining the main street and enjoyed a mixed salad and water. Rather than icing the drink they freeze the glasses here - strange and less effective, but better than tepid water.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Refreshed, we thought we would descend to Los Americas but decided against it when we saw the volume of traffic with queues in the heat at all the roundabouts. Nothing we saw attracted us to wish to stay, so we headed northward along the coast on the busy main road toward Los Gigantes.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I was deeply upset when a kamikazi cat suddenly shot across the road in an impossible bid to reach the other side amid the endless stream of fast-flowing traffic. It had no chance and we felt it hit the front nearside of the car. We managed to pull off the road to look for it. Rather to our relief, I admit, there was no sign, either on the road or the car, that we had hit it. The cat was nowhere to be seen, so I suppose I couldn't have killed it outright, but I hope it didn't limp away to die in pain. That rather dampened the rest of the day. We had hardly seen any animals at all on the island, certainly very few cats, so I may have wiped out a major part of the island's feline population.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Los Gigantes is an impressive cliff of sheer vertical lava, descending some 500 meters straight into the sea. It is one of the few remaining bastions of nature against the invading tourist industry along the west coast of the island. They are most impressive, but impossible to see in their entirety unless you are out to sea, so closely has the newly constructed town encroached upon them. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqRNzk5y0tqn90F6W-WJTqYw1XMSW34d_UHARE9e3-yxJWssLtEyGBNP6FdCVVbYeEMlfoi3uE3Zi_JNHfGQXw04FJ2R0NLxfaZtrVW7NmAbSqsRphX6N3uNwgR6l9uBRQ_EREbK9foX4-wWMMytbWz-nP-ONqljbe56VGJ5UEJImpWv-8w/s1280/770-23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqRNzk5y0tqn90F6W-WJTqYw1XMSW34d_UHARE9e3-yxJWssLtEyGBNP6FdCVVbYeEMlfoi3uE3Zi_JNHfGQXw04FJ2R0NLxfaZtrVW7NmAbSqsRphX6N3uNwgR6l9uBRQ_EREbK9foX4-wWMMytbWz-nP-ONqljbe56VGJ5UEJImpWv-8w/w400-h266/770-23.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGhskcB4DSWHlC-BbPSCEyYLs8H3y3fEibBeE1A-AFzVbGtC2qnm6uAOeJHTKCyMkC_TPWp0ycMy0vP2jG0KeMM0xoXFcle4fGwmOCxI19YK14xhNI5cP8ewne-K9XsMLXC9hG2fQAyz2fQzRj1u1wNe4yzSPLqxIPyM4RrvresEMrmlSuw/s1280/770-24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="840" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGhskcB4DSWHlC-BbPSCEyYLs8H3y3fEibBeE1A-AFzVbGtC2qnm6uAOeJHTKCyMkC_TPWp0ycMy0vP2jG0KeMM0xoXFcle4fGwmOCxI19YK14xhNI5cP8ewne-K9XsMLXC9hG2fQAyz2fQzRj1u1wNe4yzSPLqxIPyM4RrvresEMrmlSuw/w263-h400/770-24.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Los Gigantes</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">While the tourist sprawl is destroying the landscape Los Gigantes is perhaps better than most and typical of one of the smaller resorts. It has all most visitors require: a nice beach, safe for sea bathing, a swimming pool, fishing, sailing, yachting, a little marina teeming with huge fish and lined with shady bars where we sat for an ice, served by an English woman married to a local. In the background we could hear the radio, which appeared to be an English local station for ex-pats living in the Canaries. There is also a supermarket selling everything from Marmite to baked beans. Everything in the resort is clean and new, gleaming white with palm trees and flowering shrubs. In its way quite idyllic for a holiday spot, but surrounded by arid desert and new building construction. We even saw camels! There is a camel safari centre out on the unsheltered scrublands between the developments. </div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We continued back up into the hills, returning to Santiago del Teidi before turning left and descending the breathtaking narrow, twisting, helter-skelter ride with its numerous miradors down into the Barranco de Masca. The miradors are vital to the driver as the only thing to be seen otherwise is the few feet of road immediately ahead before it disappears round a vertical rock face with drops to the gorge below if you misjudge. It is always unclear what might be around the bend and you frequently encounter a driver struggling up, likewise praying not to find a vehicle emerging round the rock face. At last we had found a road approaching the general standard of the little roads on Corsica. Even here though, the roads were better serviced with more passing spaces and at least safety barriers most of the way. It reminded me of our descent into Porto with the Calanches all around. Here though it was the twisted, contorted volcanic range of the Teno mountains. The barranco is so beautiful from above. Tiny village houses cling to its near vertical sides with palm trees, cactusess and flowering shrubs luxuriating in the hot sheltered climate, so near to the sea's edge, the only visible wildlife the thousands of lizards which dart from beneath your feet, only just in time.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjthZg2WGMu-_VvhTljUvrS47-YEaoSb2T7m7ADoRjPC8iCW0o0bfb1rIpcEyX9hCB36BmuPpYrDjezZgnJzmkjnhsVUE-AJHNm8SkHmvUGZBEz_abkCdmedmbmnaywoWineB0-05aDZsNRm6iWYxUUukXFGJHWyRyXtn5i5VGOhQQ_1itOg/s1280/770-25.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="890" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjthZg2WGMu-_VvhTljUvrS47-YEaoSb2T7m7ADoRjPC8iCW0o0bfb1rIpcEyX9hCB36BmuPpYrDjezZgnJzmkjnhsVUE-AJHNm8SkHmvUGZBEz_abkCdmedmbmnaywoWineB0-05aDZsNRm6iWYxUUukXFGJHWyRyXtn5i5VGOhQQ_1itOg/w280-h400/770-25.jpg" width="280" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13GU4AE1j13W7RrGSBaE-5E-E3_mgAMOhhC5lzWm-_Ws-Zipb-avmcHp2FkCZLmhBycWmcUVCoH_vlSEZXEnOQMiT6V3btDHNOzZyKqqHZnUs3ZvOcRwLt7KW5yrajTOGzFOOWG3r9VisAezjgYC4JMLTZxpeu8UAfkLbUhYctK1quHWExQ/s1280/770-26.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1280" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13GU4AE1j13W7RrGSBaE-5E-E3_mgAMOhhC5lzWm-_Ws-Zipb-avmcHp2FkCZLmhBycWmcUVCoH_vlSEZXEnOQMiT6V3btDHNOzZyKqqHZnUs3ZvOcRwLt7KW5yrajTOGzFOOWG3r9VisAezjgYC4JMLTZxpeu8UAfkLbUhYctK1quHWExQ/w400-h269/770-26.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2r6VzhC30QlW3vZY1vdVsJwGRxGQZ3GHgOrIw4vcPbIzSn-w9TR10whnNe_QpBCixcjFNxu5UjCBrypw2wAGlYYqvNo9KQprcCgfVq-OIIk0AyWDWMkItMkleYn3bh_YmU1O0trFUS0bJ4C6XZq7qqXdfoNmuEgaT5bVWQRjtMLC2qmk4yA/s1280/770-27.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="842" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2r6VzhC30QlW3vZY1vdVsJwGRxGQZ3GHgOrIw4vcPbIzSn-w9TR10whnNe_QpBCixcjFNxu5UjCBrypw2wAGlYYqvNo9KQprcCgfVq-OIIk0AyWDWMkItMkleYn3bh_YmU1O0trFUS0bJ4C6XZq7qqXdfoNmuEgaT5bVWQRjtMLC2qmk4yA/w177-h269/770-27.jpg" width="177" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFj7azMnw7uDmRcyTl1s_11_HZOCMfu3ZX2lS6diziNsb6G51rZYudVdXhUNjrJI4hJmcCQtG9LuhCWQYZXpHq7qbxbrOwzQWqeIwn37eLg9uNF0WZ-JkHA1etHZENLIGAUWxUTTerPLrElksUqVr6jnwymGVi8af-6wHKEWGc-CcWUc4Jog/s1280/770-28.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="857" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFj7azMnw7uDmRcyTl1s_11_HZOCMfu3ZX2lS6diziNsb6G51rZYudVdXhUNjrJI4hJmcCQtG9LuhCWQYZXpHq7qbxbrOwzQWqeIwn37eLg9uNF0WZ-JkHA1etHZENLIGAUWxUTTerPLrElksUqVr6jnwymGVi8af-6wHKEWGc-CcWUc4Jog/w179-h268/770-28.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDVvqfiixIIsYPZk1Z1HQq62oxVodKsR1HJ9BxrriDMoFKhcCQTz70oYficKNzYivr5FK9Pi4A38gedkE1RfCzyGm-LxbEirC-JheZ3_5ECtwW66k8dFtwVQcXbGLfgElNP9MHtTHV0kFr4BbzP4neNkVhrELvQHomnGj9In2Jxt4k79NJA/s1280/770-29.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDVvqfiixIIsYPZk1Z1HQq62oxVodKsR1HJ9BxrriDMoFKhcCQTz70oYficKNzYivr5FK9Pi4A38gedkE1RfCzyGm-LxbEirC-JheZ3_5ECtwW66k8dFtwVQcXbGLfgElNP9MHtTHV0kFr4BbzP4neNkVhrELvQHomnGj9In2Jxt4k79NJA/w400-h264/770-29.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DAfga5a3Hve6AeOKoCGrsr3YH1fV6Q6CaSaDf5S3cRp2uieTDnhqR7zjflsFnP5rbktOYB9VrA3cJi1jddmeN8Wv9b26JyLCh75JTHDzwZtYb4YNWlLEAmkYwvn9B6-15QSBZ9xl4gJSFRnC6OHnZQy1pMkrkfSVLqDqPx-7JY-qCKjE3Q/s1280/770-30.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="840" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DAfga5a3Hve6AeOKoCGrsr3YH1fV6Q6CaSaDf5S3cRp2uieTDnhqR7zjflsFnP5rbktOYB9VrA3cJi1jddmeN8Wv9b26JyLCh75JTHDzwZtYb4YNWlLEAmkYwvn9B6-15QSBZ9xl4gJSFRnC6OHnZQy1pMkrkfSVLqDqPx-7JY-qCKjE3Q/w263-h400/770-30.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>In and around the Masca Gorge</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From Masca we continued by way of El Palmar, our route lined with wild fennel which scented the air. At El Palmar we saw a strange volcano with slices cut from its sides, like pieces removed neatly from a cake, revealing the dark brown of its interior, contrasting with the green of the slopes. We later discovered that the volcanic ash is quarried to use as fertiliser for the banana plantations all along the coast. We also learned that the main crop here used to be sugar cane before bananas replaced them.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We stopped at Buenavista, a little town seemingly unaffected by tourism. It was paseo time, around seven in the evening, and the streets and squares were thronging with local people. Children played while mothers stood chatting in groups and the men sat outside the bars. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-ExCntd0ohnxV9X35ICTUjVdGpt6-f93Wa85-_RmQ_BW2t8-AOsT_12il-0g5sQ7JiYcg2Bul13qFu-PCJvW11ubuQHhX9gYgTFJ3UKix4eXAiVmi0OW3MqdO8Go4knJchcL91JktBX1xpX5YeBzz7HxAKoQXjLOxxlH7d_U-J0PDi20fw/s1280/770-31-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-ExCntd0ohnxV9X35ICTUjVdGpt6-f93Wa85-_RmQ_BW2t8-AOsT_12il-0g5sQ7JiYcg2Bul13qFu-PCJvW11ubuQHhX9gYgTFJ3UKix4eXAiVmi0OW3MqdO8Go4knJchcL91JktBX1xpX5YeBzz7HxAKoQXjLOxxlH7d_U-J0PDi20fw/w400-h266/770-31-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Buenavista Social Club</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">There is a large shady square of laurels and palms with a bandstand in the centre. Beneath is a bar and all around folks sat chatting and drinking, enjoying the evening, now considerably cooler. We have seen similar structures in other little towns. It seems a delightful arrangement. Everyone seemed relaxed and it would have been so nice to have stayed for longer. We passed the Buenavista Social Club with the village men playing cards and happy voices and music coming through the open windows. We must tell our son Neil, who has a collection of Latin American music recorded by the Buenavista Social Club in Cuba. </div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Down on the coast there were the usual banana plantations. Folk here seem to grow them on allotments as we would grow parsnips or carrots. Building development was taking place; the lure of tourist money is likely soon to spoil the natural atmosphere of this little town.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then home through Los Silos which, despite its name, proved to be a lovely little town, again busy with local residents enjoying themselves, full of interesting little side streets, houses with wooden balconies, a central square with a bandstand crowded with local folk. Nearby was a huge white wedding cake of a church that we did not find very attractive, over-ornate with an attempt to weld a Gothic style onto a Renaissance church. As it was now dusk, we returned to Puerto, parked, washed off the sticky sweat of the day and found a restaurant for supper.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ3ub8lZwecyuvXTe9CmTeJ21d-3KgoXY0_j_vnlwVf4PTXz4nDrfenDcqj-GmrHEgGfHhvTr9jrtFOzoAfp5sTC7pXevYidDGqEKXzAL6SAzDd4STFJCMa2JImtFQRwWAxhUp7sptE5Nj-mSjZevsrYyGmDR3nQMnhh7NXyeLqOnRqYtydg/s1280/770-32-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1280" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ3ub8lZwecyuvXTe9CmTeJ21d-3KgoXY0_j_vnlwVf4PTXz4nDrfenDcqj-GmrHEgGfHhvTr9jrtFOzoAfp5sTC7pXevYidDGqEKXzAL6SAzDd4STFJCMa2JImtFQRwWAxhUp7sptE5Nj-mSjZevsrYyGmDR3nQMnhh7NXyeLqOnRqYtydg/w400-h261/770-32-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Puerto de la Cruz. Fishermen in the harbour</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Wednesday 24 April 2002 (continued)</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is now evening, and we are back in our apartment after another busy day away from the tourist resorts. We got going around 11 a.m. after breakfast on our balcony, watched over by a very watery sun. In fact it stayed discreetly hidden for most of the day, which meant a far better temperature for us as we travelled around all day. [...]On our way through town we investigated the palm trees more closely and discovered that the fruits I had wondered about are in fact dates. We found some which had fallen from the tree, about the size of olives but the flesh was sweet and sticky - definitely dates. We saw some palms trees yesterday in Los Gigantes with large, thick, green fruits and wonder if they could be coconuts, they do grow in the Canary Islands.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We left Puerto by the motorway which we followed as far as Tacoronte, where we turned off toward Esperanza. Ian discovered a short cut via Agua Garcia. Unfortunately it was a vertical road up through the little town involving changes into first gear. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibW_vQtu_M-WI5vn3AUIRHQIs1POlwTWu_f_mCKNk6WnQ6v8AyPtr2TGxWadDI_n9TsdH52HsHh8noZ6aHIG8uoNq93uklXCNOEZnEWqw0zwm0NI78WS72AxcSaVTm7wt8NluZ-N4g4oarCFphW8qStiqIXnkXUjZdm58ciGCRCxmyebXjNQ/s1280/770-33-Bosque-Esperanza.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibW_vQtu_M-WI5vn3AUIRHQIs1POlwTWu_f_mCKNk6WnQ6v8AyPtr2TGxWadDI_n9TsdH52HsHh8noZ6aHIG8uoNq93uklXCNOEZnEWqw0zwm0NI78WS72AxcSaVTm7wt8NluZ-N4g4oarCFphW8qStiqIXnkXUjZdm58ciGCRCxmyebXjNQ/w400-h266/770-33-Bosque-Esperanza.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bosque de la Esperanza</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In Esperanza we met some Swedish travellers who were totally lost. Ian shot to their rescue, outdated Baedeker map in hand and sent them on their way with cries of relief and astonishment that someone had a map showing something more than the motorway around the island. However then discovered that Herr Baedeker fell short when it came to depicting the roads in the Parque Nacional, as existing roads did not appear on the map so, with the Swedes safely out of the way he was reduced to asking a local man the way to Teidi as we couldn't actually work out the route ourselves. We continued along the "Spina dorsal" of the island, separating the north and south. It was absolutely deserted today with hardly a vehicle anywhere. We drove upward along an excellent, well-metalled road through flowering shrubs and ferns, later giving way to eucalyptus and pines. </div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyXomQxa5XKr860vu6Q-w2wPq9XMFhAFCfKdKCmY8OPWfaA7x2_WNglmX5ODGwL9MBWScQWx9P8hoB7nCsDVurY3t3yJwak-hwKIM3gSVA5TpD3m-NYuLC-jKe--Q4ybWY-vI4F5HA-9P0tCg8wQAgn09Ae3iIAhjWCUgs_SMRW_mzmgJQA/s1280/770-34-Bosque-Esperanza.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1280" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyXomQxa5XKr860vu6Q-w2wPq9XMFhAFCfKdKCmY8OPWfaA7x2_WNglmX5ODGwL9MBWScQWx9P8hoB7nCsDVurY3t3yJwak-hwKIM3gSVA5TpD3m-NYuLC-jKe--Q4ybWY-vI4F5HA-9P0tCg8wQAgn09Ae3iIAhjWCUgs_SMRW_mzmgJQA/w400-h261/770-34-Bosque-Esperanza.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bosque de la Esperanza, on the Spina Dorsal road</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We stopped regularly at miradors for views down to the coastal plains to the north and south and were delighted to see several blue finches, a large species found only on Tenerife. They live in the pine forests and have only recently started to appear again in any number. Apparently this is a sign that the project to reforest the hillsides is proving successful. Before the Spanish conquest, the foothills around Tedii were covered in pine forests. The was reduced over the years almost to extinction, but a reforestation programme over the past forty years has increased the cover dramatically. The aim was to increase the forest cover to its original extent, thus stabilising the hillsides and ensuring water retention on the island. The woodlands are carefully managed today and we passed loggers cutting, stacking and loading felled timber.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoapJOyEuAy-xLoOI8qoUw4aIcqJ_FyiDeDqBoGEgyvLFUbV_14gT_dIpmkQmQICdEsmxcLVubk_aq5-eF8JRrQz8dw6mrnMkOjJDAHBePtOh5g0qpnGHxOJEDwDyLRopC-IV-ePn8Zk3wyyCHiFfoE9JB4-q0sS7XVF-5wwg5sPndos-2Q/s1280/770-35-Caldera-Pedro-Gil.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1280" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoapJOyEuAy-xLoOI8qoUw4aIcqJ_FyiDeDqBoGEgyvLFUbV_14gT_dIpmkQmQICdEsmxcLVubk_aq5-eF8JRrQz8dw6mrnMkOjJDAHBePtOh5g0qpnGHxOJEDwDyLRopC-IV-ePn8Zk3wyyCHiFfoE9JB4-q0sS7XVF-5wwg5sPndos-2Q/w400-h269/770-35-Caldera-Pedro-Gil.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Caldera de Pedro Gil</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">At a height of 1,900 meters we came upon the Caldera de Pedro Gil where we parked and followed a track on foot down through the ash and lava of the volcano. A strange landscape, devoid of life except for the occasional lizard and scrubby plants and a few pines. It must have been rather chill for the lizards as we needed cagoules. The range of lava to be found here is amazing. I collected specimens of all colours except green. Even white and pale yellow were there along with reds, oranges, pinks, purples, browns and black. </div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT97XYuGmB-8l9f21aSTrK-4sWl-g1wYcTDm1Be_egCxEXLEDir1bXrLSgqOLxwZQzlJgho_PxNld306phlfyHF7KPTbS0BfxYnhGW3P7nt-krQ9b8-cP7_wMRLGqhO3MBsVxTg3gMQiuH_YHYDWHSOROzntcKsdqYqzDdRAn_4pU5Rjvtzg/s1280/770-36-Caldera-Pedro-Gil.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT97XYuGmB-8l9f21aSTrK-4sWl-g1wYcTDm1Be_egCxEXLEDir1bXrLSgqOLxwZQzlJgho_PxNld306phlfyHF7KPTbS0BfxYnhGW3P7nt-krQ9b8-cP7_wMRLGqhO3MBsVxTg3gMQiuH_YHYDWHSOROzntcKsdqYqzDdRAn_4pU5Rjvtzg/w400-h264/770-36-Caldera-Pedro-Gil.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Caldera de Pedro Gil</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We could have walked on indefinitely following the deserted track around the internal rim of the huge inactive volcano. However we contented ourselves with looking across the caldera at the fine ash on the slopes of the conical volcano of Arafo within the Caldera de Pedro Gil. Around the rim we could see the different coloured strata from the various ash deposits laid down in a series of eruptions in 1704 and 1705 - a truly awe-inspiring and beautiful landscape. How long, one wonders, until the next eruption. The volcano that formed this island and all its younger siblings are not dead, simply dormant.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizy6NisHejQYYbWBQcneBfb68g5bbrXoJYv1a4xjYOhLgFYQh-fdzkHC2qedPAQ7P89gexJ1BBa0Pd7aOmRZc6Yhef4gFt2E6VC8I3reRTeJvGgHXJEsI9XQBe3InAb3mai0rIm8Sv5hTwXTJ8sT0QIDwQ2Mzgg7XCfRGAdaGJKPDO2CAKkQ/s1280/780-00-Caldera-Pedro-Gil.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="847" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizy6NisHejQYYbWBQcneBfb68g5bbrXoJYv1a4xjYOhLgFYQh-fdzkHC2qedPAQ7P89gexJ1BBa0Pd7aOmRZc6Yhef4gFt2E6VC8I3reRTeJvGgHXJEsI9XQBe3InAb3mai0rIm8Sv5hTwXTJ8sT0QIDwQ2Mzgg7XCfRGAdaGJKPDO2CAKkQ/w265-h400/780-00-Caldera-Pedro-Gil.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Caldera de Pedro Gil</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We continued through this strange, red, mysterious landscape with Teidi showing its white snowy summit just hazily through the misty atmosphere. Nearer summits and crests along the island's dorsal spine assumed a mystic quality through the hazy light. We saw very little traffic, and could potter along at our own pace, stopping frequently to wonder at the scenery.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Eventually we reached our goal, the white domes of the two observatories appeared on the crest of the mountainside opposite Mount Teidi, the Observatoria de Izañia. One observatory is devoted to meteorology and the other to astrophysics. Our friend <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Wilson_(physicist)">Ray Wilson</a>, an expert on telescope optics described attending a conference there. [A bit of name dropping: he is the only one of our friends to have an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3790_Raywilson">asteroid</a> named after him - and was joint winner of the prestigious Kavli Prize in 2010.] But it was all deserted. We would have loved to have visited but there were no entry signs and visits had to be booked in advance.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-pWHvvLVkQWl9C5m6a2S6eXHuxPeBYNedFWQz8lPDrAeBAIo1hDuwx33CZKRzKtF2-v9yDVhSEkezwyxkX3IVEGbEyJtqYl_WT5NLkCweeux_72MWFMkzikwhoJahkkWjPJtBYNcuCSXEfRaXmVKhvqpEqhy15MaSj3sH8imTu9nsTAOLA/s1280/780-01-Observatories.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-pWHvvLVkQWl9C5m6a2S6eXHuxPeBYNedFWQz8lPDrAeBAIo1hDuwx33CZKRzKtF2-v9yDVhSEkezwyxkX3IVEGbEyJtqYl_WT5NLkCweeux_72MWFMkzikwhoJahkkWjPJtBYNcuCSXEfRaXmVKhvqpEqhy15MaSj3sH8imTu9nsTAOLA/w400-h265/780-01-Observatories.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Teidi, the Observatoria de Izañia</i></span></div><br />Realising it was now 3 p.m., we decided to continue to join up with our route from last Sunday and stop in the cafe at the entrance to the lunar landscape of the high lands of Teidi. So we sat amid the rocks eating rolls and drinking coffee while blue finches ate the crumbs at our feet. The desire to see again the strange landscape of Teidi overcame us so we continued across the caldera of Teidi, the Cañadas, which certainly merited a second visit.<div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDg2-WeCwMoemrvyuTvzowf-tehN7B2nVT5xJNr3gxU0cMtLaiY5kwg9SRgPsM6AWBI2Uetsa0shjVpdceMDsOpd1NZtohq06E5NmdsTvcglFthT833urnzXsVqj0p0a8SkMOOj-Td_ORrCJHrVudKLXTRsMo337cEDCdkoKotZsbztflUmQ/s1280/780-02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDg2-WeCwMoemrvyuTvzowf-tehN7B2nVT5xJNr3gxU0cMtLaiY5kwg9SRgPsM6AWBI2Uetsa0shjVpdceMDsOpd1NZtohq06E5NmdsTvcglFthT833urnzXsVqj0p0a8SkMOOj-Td_ORrCJHrVudKLXTRsMo337cEDCdkoKotZsbztflUmQ/w400-h264/780-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Teidi National Park - Jill on location for the revived series of</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"Top Gear" due to be screened later in 2002</i> </div><br />Today it was almost deserted, a contrast to last Sunday. It is even more awe-inspiring and strange when seen without cars or people. We parked and walked up between the weird rock formations with the caldera walls looming 500 meters above us, at a height of 2,100 meters. </div><div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmt9j5ggtxS-ebIPX58U5uaN0JjPFTXemd_reQzJtGkCeqmtS69CIWGvN5RPpBRY_BnTDZ8X4cciDiGYbffJ9ePlqe57MV4vtQGxfSVwStlSuvMLyud3tr9ETDZiaTlsvTOPHu2yDM88EaAU2qBFq_LPPXMC0tgcBGVR2w374B_ttxuWNYA/s1280/780-03-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmt9j5ggtxS-ebIPX58U5uaN0JjPFTXemd_reQzJtGkCeqmtS69CIWGvN5RPpBRY_BnTDZ8X4cciDiGYbffJ9ePlqe57MV4vtQGxfSVwStlSuvMLyud3tr9ETDZiaTlsvTOPHu2yDM88EaAU2qBFq_LPPXMC0tgcBGVR2w374B_ttxuWNYA/w266-h400/780-03-Canadas.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>Las Cañadas</i></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthyAtRHPmh6ltrKAM2M_TDCH6utkYbo_uN2hPeYnGndJjaSt-cD_MbhW1M8npSlC_xu0Uq9Nkani5lrzsD1dW6A6j1M7ZV6cATLvtH5XMl05qzeeLu_4j318eg9GzeAMZwFvRqp4IXB1_UZrp8uMhcgOchHVOtuyGiUapSKWUkM_JNYNYug/s1280/780-04-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1280" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthyAtRHPmh6ltrKAM2M_TDCH6utkYbo_uN2hPeYnGndJjaSt-cD_MbhW1M8npSlC_xu0Uq9Nkani5lrzsD1dW6A6j1M7ZV6cATLvtH5XMl05qzeeLu_4j318eg9GzeAMZwFvRqp4IXB1_UZrp8uMhcgOchHVOtuyGiUapSKWUkM_JNYNYug/w400-h270/780-04-Canadas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;">Las Cañadas, Teidi in background</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqydzH_uXbUwVAOeLQZ-7NDY3-GL8obsH_nbpYomzVXmHVc4pWkPiHLx7jPJ_Eei3FetyQsBm89d0vdoKyvATMTEriFWMw1krzTgvOn6jYxuPQ_VZY7OELY_abkSAk5vsmYoLO2fJHih9SNzSdBzYDpYiuZ0NGB4Mk0NRBAhigs0kEY5plg/s1280/780-05-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqydzH_uXbUwVAOeLQZ-7NDY3-GL8obsH_nbpYomzVXmHVc4pWkPiHLx7jPJ_Eei3FetyQsBm89d0vdoKyvATMTEriFWMw1krzTgvOn6jYxuPQ_VZY7OELY_abkSAk5vsmYoLO2fJHih9SNzSdBzYDpYiuZ0NGB4Mk0NRBAhigs0kEY5plg/w400-h264/780-05-Canadas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;">Las Cañadas</i></div><br />It was cold, with a chill wind and a pale watery sun. Teidi showed white against the pale sky, and the landscape was a riot of colour, from purple through, red, orange and pink to yellow, brown and even green and black. Much of it looked like gigantic pieces of clinker from some titanic furnace. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYKHkzWPGpNOdI2Vkr2Oee900FK0s3lZjKDF7WicAuQ57iJfooAVIfzthtye8FtL5v73QVraR54SIdOcudpH8bC_c-_U6FL_jMDL3eKuzvDDQPvnHwZtoq6cHuQysvccJMbpyLhQ3MMO--VFzNNMVzbC-QkideYLMQwA_tVlkumyXSHIpUQ/s1280/780-06-Llano-Ucanca.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYKHkzWPGpNOdI2Vkr2Oee900FK0s3lZjKDF7WicAuQ57iJfooAVIfzthtye8FtL5v73QVraR54SIdOcudpH8bC_c-_U6FL_jMDL3eKuzvDDQPvnHwZtoq6cHuQysvccJMbpyLhQ3MMO--VFzNNMVzbC-QkideYLMQwA_tVlkumyXSHIpUQ/w400-h265/780-06-Llano-Ucanca.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Llano de Ucanca</i></div><br />We continued the seventeen kilometers across the level caldera of the volcano - one of the largest in the world. Gradually we started to descend the far side down a twisting, deserted road until we entered the seemingly endless pine forest again. We turned off at Vilafor, at 1,400 meters above sea level.the highest town in Tenerife, a pretty little place, full of wild flowers, with little houses, a pleasant paved square with a fountain surrounded by terraces supporting vines. The gardens are full of orange and lemon trees supporting glorious fruits of enormous size, and almond trees line the roadside.There is a long, lemon rendered church of very simple external design with a low roof of red tiles and a convent behind. The church is dedicated to Hermano Pedro (Brother Peter), who must have been a missionary to Guatemala, as the republic had erected a statue to him in the village square. Almost all the houses in the older upper part of the town bore enamel plaques outside in recognition of the work of Hermano Pedro and flags and banners to him hung from the lamp posts and the cafe. Obviously they were extremely proud of him.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Below the town we were intrigued to find many terraces that had only recently been completed and were not yet used for anything. Water had been laid on for each one with pipes running between them all. A well-surfaced road had been marked out with white paint extending across the hillside to note changes in its alignment, the obvious intention being to cut out bends and widen the road to make access to Vilaflor easier. We presume it is all being funded with EU money, and it looks as if the intention is to reinstate the vines to bring employment to the town. The surface of the terraces was covered in white pumice, presumably to control weeds and conserve moisture. The whole development is on a massive scale but it was strange that so many new terraces are being constructed when there are hundreds of older ones here, abandoned and covered in weeds, flowering plants and shrubs, almond trees orange, yellow and red poppies, and huge Teidi viper's bugloss up to five feet high, somewhat larger than in our garden back home. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz9jfxbNXM9PyXvesgUuUqkDvGi16I2kU_yznbLigsR07u313NBI7oDqX93YHqDhWVLpp9A8C0ckzgpFbJKnvKsaYXBxZJYWFrv7yzBPiMmL_PCBx3EA0JMfgb6KxEObPv_0evLufNZVGIFckI6Zd7LntQtuVY_T8LHqJI0mImPNLNZgGOJQ/s1280/780-07.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz9jfxbNXM9PyXvesgUuUqkDvGi16I2kU_yznbLigsR07u313NBI7oDqX93YHqDhWVLpp9A8C0ckzgpFbJKnvKsaYXBxZJYWFrv7yzBPiMmL_PCBx3EA0JMfgb6KxEObPv_0evLufNZVGIFckI6Zd7LntQtuVY_T8LHqJI0mImPNLNZgGOJQ/w400-h264/780-07.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Plantations in the mountains near Vilaflor</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As we continued our descent along this pretty, winding route, it began to look rather like the Corsican maquis with the aroma of beautiful shrubs and flowering plants interspersed with pines and eucalyptus. We were now well down on the plain of the south coast, and the air was still and hot, very much warmer than on the north coast or up in the mountains. We passed through Granadilla and continued down to San Isidro where we picked up the southern motorway, not far from the airport where we had arrived on Friday night. It was already after 7 p.m. so we decided to stick with the motorway around the island, back to Puerto de la Cruz. We passed through a horrid, parched, infertile landscape that stretched for mile after mile along the south coast, definite "los malpais" and seemingly useless for anything. Wherever a sheltered hollow could be reclaimed, a banana plantation was established, swaddled in white plastic sheeting. Little resorts had been built along the coast wherever possible. We realised just how lucky we were to have to have landed in such a pleasant town as Puerto with its clean fresh atmosphere and green surroundings.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We did see several wind farms, which stuck us as a brilliant use of the landscape. Winds can be pretty powerful off the Atlantic and with the amount of arid, otherwise useless land available it ought to be possible to generate all the energy requirements of the whole island and more, the main problem being what to do with the excess. The windmills certainly improved the landscape, providing the eye with a focal point of interest. The four lane motorway around the capital Santa Cruz in the rush hour is not for the fainthearted, but we had no choice. Fortunately our entire experience of drivers here has been pleasant. They are courteous, don't carve you up, obey speed limits, let you in and are generally excellent. We eventually linked up with the northern motorway beyond Santa Cruz, which is only two lanes wide and very easy driving. We reached Puerto, turned seaward and arrived at our usual parking place with no difficulty.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We decided not to eat out tonight, instead we bought pizza and some wine and have spent the evening writing up this diary so that we can make an early start tomorrow as we have to return the car by 3.30 p.m.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Thursday 25 April 2002</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We were up and away by 9 a.m. of this our last full day, driving along the north coast toward the Punto de Teno on the far north-west corner of the island. It is supposed to be very lovely but dangerous landslips beyond Buenavista have caused indefinite road closures, something we discovered only when we reached the barrier blocking our route through the privately owned banana plantations which stretched up the hillside toward the black ash of the last lava flows in 1706. Cloud was rising above the mountain tops and there was a haze over the sea beyond the plantations to our seaward side.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Disappointed, we turned back through Buenavista and along the coast to Garachico and parked on the seafront. This is a truly delightful little town, as yet quite unspoiled by tourism. It has suffered more than its fair share of disasters in its history, with a good two thirds of the town being swallowed by the lava flows of the 1706 eruption, which destroyed the harbour and much of the town. Until then it had been one of the main ports of Tenerife. The black ash still looms over the town on the lower slopes of the volcano, and it doesn't look as if it would take much to cause it to slip. It looks rather like an enormous Welsh coal tip at the base of the Volcano de<span style="font-family: times;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Arenas Negras. </span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">From the roof of the fort on the seaward side of the road it is obvious how the lava flow swept down to engulf parts of the town. Then in 1987 the place was hit by an enormous tidal wave some ten meters high, causing serious damage all along the seafront. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Back inside what was once the fortified town stands the tree-lined central square with the usual bandstand, cafeteria and pretty fountain. The plaza is edged by old buildings with their high wooden doors. Here too is a beautiful wooden-roofed town church with its usual dressed statues, but generally much nicer and more muted than in other churches. Ian again could not resist feeding God's candle meter and got three to light at one go. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeRpyWYbXC4e1UHMLIzTVhrm6Z2X8w2UBnFZIY9MX0o_ert3Ec81hm8mOHcouCg9nBvFTOO5iLlsQbfN9Y7IV1Gi6Y1JzQwtN9mNHWCzFUebwzMjK7lRCEJxzpZ7n2Z4UJfHlp0kRLyIyROAMJs2GKZXy_x9ppH8VWxfHhW0ji-_cfZdllg/s1280/780-19-Garachico.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeRpyWYbXC4e1UHMLIzTVhrm6Z2X8w2UBnFZIY9MX0o_ert3Ec81hm8mOHcouCg9nBvFTOO5iLlsQbfN9Y7IV1Gi6Y1JzQwtN9mNHWCzFUebwzMjK7lRCEJxzpZ7n2Z4UJfHlp0kRLyIyROAMJs2GKZXy_x9ppH8VWxfHhW0ji-_cfZdllg/w400-h264/780-19-Garachico.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Garachico. Funeral procession</i></div><br />We bought coffee and omelette tortillas at a little cafe on the seafront, asking for a jug of hot water to dilute the strong black coffee. I got confused and asked for "water" in Spanish and "hot" in Italian (acqua calda instead of agua caliente). General amusement was caused but we did get what we wanted. We visited the old fort on the seafront, the wall alive with huge blue-brown lizards about a foot in length. <div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6CCXx_eCj3wX24Q_fT6Wwx0a6weoq_P8CEkq2VjABqMruMNsWT6N6M3SQnITZwi6QpNsB40934QcMC_YqIYMCF6jf4ACRm3BJMkj5Mlg5l6pvAvDsgZPsaYFfN5rORuZmxjFehUI2HqaFH4WPy906fw2pmYozD_sutZN_xymF_0Km7IQLw/s1280/780-09-Garachico.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6CCXx_eCj3wX24Q_fT6Wwx0a6weoq_P8CEkq2VjABqMruMNsWT6N6M3SQnITZwi6QpNsB40934QcMC_YqIYMCF6jf4ACRm3BJMkj5Mlg5l6pvAvDsgZPsaYFfN5rORuZmxjFehUI2HqaFH4WPy906fw2pmYozD_sutZN_xymF_0Km7IQLw/w400-h265/780-09-Garachico.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Garachico. The Fort.</i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtvGY0O-fI5VkNzs19ecIyih4A6W90qp6ocpkpIMemZiv97-r3oTHIHearZ3nqYi80KffcwUaAo-NlSOxw6rbbea_7nUVMSITOypgVz5TfKULxBOiDsxEtPYmSNU13VCSX2r48B0QFES4Lr0wWgzcGKmcxDYXJb9aCGDlA5xoZt-mtYS0rw/s1280/780-11a-Garachico.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtvGY0O-fI5VkNzs19ecIyih4A6W90qp6ocpkpIMemZiv97-r3oTHIHearZ3nqYi80KffcwUaAo-NlSOxw6rbbea_7nUVMSITOypgVz5TfKULxBOiDsxEtPYmSNU13VCSX2r48B0QFES4Lr0wWgzcGKmcxDYXJb9aCGDlA5xoZt-mtYS0rw/w400-h300/780-11a-Garachico.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Garachico. The Fort. Lizard on the walls.</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Inside we enjoyed an exhibition on the flora, fauna and geology of the island, which shed light on a number of things we had wondered about - pistachios <i>do</i> come from here, and it <i>was</i> a juniper plant I had seen up in the hills. There were photographs of the town and maps showing the encroachment of the lava from the 1706 eruption. From the roof of the fort there were excellent views back over the roofs of the delightful little town, cowering beneath the huge black lava and ash flows that looked as if they could so easily slip and destroy what still remained<span style="text-align: justify;">.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEZiCp0MdDKO0SEF__WIxQDaDVZPG-9xOZvIKBYzT0sDbBqOJSo6zPkN2BsG1mmS-oY7YY_Lw7ETYOWJkLXpM4UQmpnMQM-zZ8KiYilZwInFhjC207HgYV8VDgSfM3XEHuQrRGYGQwnDsaglo3-SGlCwxN_cZTJpktj1YNqWiCKQN6XINrQ/s1280/780-10-Garachico.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEZiCp0MdDKO0SEF__WIxQDaDVZPG-9xOZvIKBYzT0sDbBqOJSo6zPkN2BsG1mmS-oY7YY_Lw7ETYOWJkLXpM4UQmpnMQM-zZ8KiYilZwInFhjC207HgYV8VDgSfM3XEHuQrRGYGQwnDsaglo3-SGlCwxN_cZTJpktj1YNqWiCKQN6XINrQ/w400-h266/780-10-Garachico.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Garachico. View from Fort</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The old port was destroyed but has been transformed into beautiful gardens filled with fragrant flowering shrubs, shady corners with fountains, and lizards sunning themselves on the black lava stone walls. Up the cobbled street we arrived at the big main square, devoid of traffic with beautifully maintained properties surrounding all sides - colour-rendered huge old buildings: the church, a hotel, a restaurant, the town hall, a former convent, now used as a cultural and exhibition centre. We entered this and found ourselves in the most beautiful pair of courtyards with cool archways leading off into displays of daily life, photographs, and an exhibition illustrating the work of the meteorological society of the Canaries.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBUY9rzRlpr97FcoivQq9Wf4z1RFT2GCxq1dDPXLGJDSELVSM3eBmcwXvsB1-ZSyzxJtZh4-zgfkqM0pK523uk4BzdDUrrMnzl2PN9T3feTOFCfhx--HZ-t4VwzbTIS1qO13w1FJhguZPt2_YLnE2wVOTKYpl6niHOXKxrop_C1RKtQ5xKw/s1280/780-13-Garachico.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="841" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBUY9rzRlpr97FcoivQq9Wf4z1RFT2GCxq1dDPXLGJDSELVSM3eBmcwXvsB1-ZSyzxJtZh4-zgfkqM0pK523uk4BzdDUrrMnzl2PN9T3feTOFCfhx--HZ-t4VwzbTIS1qO13w1FJhguZPt2_YLnE2wVOTKYpl6niHOXKxrop_C1RKtQ5xKw/w263-h400/780-13-Garachico.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8JiBAqa1uMhEbdbsAYPvs1EjY45LC3nR4fffTqrqrhL0J6ODpnKawcVlt5oo9hvIltOcB8m9SK-FIIrNkw7oy1Q7JqcS24l5gZEP19gDT3_HRzsDakvaMw82_KDE6sXZlf3aJ3L8hkvcg-Ak6eJyAIu4ygx1pDasir-x6tBPZgiNWStkdw/s1280/780-14-Garachico.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8JiBAqa1uMhEbdbsAYPvs1EjY45LC3nR4fffTqrqrhL0J6ODpnKawcVlt5oo9hvIltOcB8m9SK-FIIrNkw7oy1Q7JqcS24l5gZEP19gDT3_HRzsDakvaMw82_KDE6sXZlf3aJ3L8hkvcg-Ak6eJyAIu4ygx1pDasir-x6tBPZgiNWStkdw/w400-h263/780-14-Garachico.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Garachico. Town hall, on the balconies</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The floors of the courtyard were laid out in pebbles set in geometrical patterns amid the lava stone flags and the courtyards were filled with palms and decorative flowering shrubs. The cloisters were shady, protected from the heat by the wooden balcony above lining all four sides. Upstairs was a similar arrangement of rooms leading off from the balcony, which was shaded from the heat by a red tiled roof. At this level we were at the height of the palm leaves, looking down on the courtyard with its geometric pebble designs, and up to views of the mountain towering immediately behind the old convent. In every conceivable corner of the town little patches of bananas have been planted, sometimes interspersed with citrus fruit or blossoming almond trees. </div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzs-I9MLN3IYO_gZzE94gzqjbyobaB6qpJsqs-jmClQ8bS9OAr4tR91sbrCm8orS3XlHa_xRLpZgFkXIe3v70jYnmIFDBSTVf4ALL86Pp9J4-OzfbllQUMp_fi-MrjvS-lW1rdwYvZsRLaNRdHGzIdl5TNz93yRrCLuS8Xns8gI3AxLbl8g/s1280/780-17-Garachico.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="847" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzs-I9MLN3IYO_gZzE94gzqjbyobaB6qpJsqs-jmClQ8bS9OAr4tR91sbrCm8orS3XlHa_xRLpZgFkXIe3v70jYnmIFDBSTVf4ALL86Pp9J4-OzfbllQUMp_fi-MrjvS-lW1rdwYvZsRLaNRdHGzIdl5TNz93yRrCLuS8Xns8gI3AxLbl8g/w129-h193/780-17-Garachico.jpg" width="129" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6zXW3ZZdjC57pPJ5YlPvSN3gnGQgWLHNE0BkoqKptIZcFSpyJDH4r4z4WvcrZIEd77QQDKr66AxKyaJYGjJgb2mc05VH_D7AN8CopjhATj_Vuh5KSOFtFx0vlHrg-u0M1i2X67xUYMnpHzvOcFIgOg-UVc9jxTf5h2sRLPvdT2rEpfozGA/s1280/780-18-Garachico.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1280" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6zXW3ZZdjC57pPJ5YlPvSN3gnGQgWLHNE0BkoqKptIZcFSpyJDH4r4z4WvcrZIEd77QQDKr66AxKyaJYGjJgb2mc05VH_D7AN8CopjhATj_Vuh5KSOFtFx0vlHrg-u0M1i2X67xUYMnpHzvOcFIgOg-UVc9jxTf5h2sRLPvdT2rEpfozGA/w280-h189/780-18-Garachico.jpg" width="280" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Garachico. Banana plantations</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The car was due for return at 3.30 p.m. so we returned to Puerto, filled up with petrol and, after a frustrating detour caused by traffic diversions around one-way systems, succeeded in returning the car to Nizza fifteen minutes early. There was no problem about the damage around the headlight; they simply accepted that it was probably already damaged when we borrowed the vehicle, and our deposit was refunded.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We left the very grubby car n the forecourt and walked down the tree-lined road past the high, gleaming tourist flats, each with its little balcony to the seafront overlooking its wonderful gardens of cactuses, pines, palms and scented flowering shrubs, alive with hundreds of happy, colourful lizards, the whole against the backdrop of the Atlantic with its white-capped breakers rushing in toward the black, sandy beaches. Brave and obviously experienced surfers rode the waves in spectacular style. There was no wind however, and the air was warm but not unbearable. We sat at a shady table with a beer and excellent hot fresh pizza watching holidaymakers enjoying the gardens, then walked back along the front to our hotel for a wash and to sort out our arrangements for getting back to the airport tomorrow. Tha, as my thoughts were turning to the joy of a swim in the hotel pool, Ian decided we would visit the casino above the town for a nice view. I suspect that he was hoping that the views would have been of Miss Puerto de la Cruz 1956 in colourful black and white, bt reluctantly gave up the idea of a swim to accompany him. After all, I can swim at home, but I couldn't see views of Tenerife there.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So we struggled up countless flights of steps cutting up the hillside above the town. The steps were lined on both sides by pretty gardens and little fountains. They were actually quite cool and shady and as we climbed we picked dates from the trees and ate them. Actually they were too small to enjoy, but it is not often that you can go date scrumping. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">From the casino we certainly did have a good view down onto the town though, as Ian said, not quite like the view from the Sacré Coeur in Paris. Apparently Agatha Christie used to stay at the casino here. She must have been pretty rich as we realised rather quickly that prices up here are much higher than down in the town. The doors of the casino were closed with nobody around except for a few tourists looking rather chic, some taxi drivers, joggers and a few chickens. These were scratching away in the beautiful flower beds in front of the casino, laying their eggs amid the cactuses and generally mystifying us by their presence. Views down presented an endless vista of hotels, brightly rendered and offset by plenty of plants and palms. The sea was the backdrop,and there were glimpses of bright blue swimming pools on the roofs of apartment blocks. It was very pleasant wandering through these Jardines de Taoro with the sound of the water from the artificially created waterfall and the many fountains. The slightest of breezes ensured that the sunshine was bearable, the views were lovely and the plants superb. There were so many different cactuses, many with bright flowers, plenty of different sort of palms, some with fruits other than dates, trees and shrubs with gaudy trumpet flowers, and geraniums and petunias nestled among the uneven lumps of dark volcanic stone rockeries. We found a water garden with pools and aquatic plants. Peacocks were on a lawn green enough for England. We sat near a tiled fountain on the lawn surrounded by hibiscus blossom, syringa and brightly flowering oleanders, sipping mango juice to the twitter of birdsong. Blue morning glory creeper cascaded from the walls of the little garden restaurant and mauve flowering trees added splashes of colour to this idyllic place.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8eYcRcrqZRGv2rCFiS3BkZ7OYPZTeXGi3qIAmrUm4Ihgc_-AUntMnSDtcAjGHsEf2cCyrXMnuQAmJ2Bs4PB2hI_tO2A83DFCd-qKhAHEOJrtg9PDXqejrgolDwH8Vit-R5jsKF3JCZqP7XQh--YqXt3TT2EV_ZJAwbgEIQzq2hWXdAMlPg/s1280/780-20-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8eYcRcrqZRGv2rCFiS3BkZ7OYPZTeXGi3qIAmrUm4Ihgc_-AUntMnSDtcAjGHsEf2cCyrXMnuQAmJ2Bs4PB2hI_tO2A83DFCd-qKhAHEOJrtg9PDXqejrgolDwH8Vit-R5jsKF3JCZqP7XQh--YqXt3TT2EV_ZJAwbgEIQzq2hWXdAMlPg/s320/780-20-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Puerto de Santa Cruz. Casino gardens, waterfall</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The casino was not like the ones we had visited in Laguna and La Orotava, and because it was locked we never did discover whether it held photographs of Miss Puerto through the ages. However Ian now wished to go back even further in time, so we went to the historic archives of Puerto de la Cruz. How many other visitors do that on their last day's holiday in Tenerife? Not many, to judge by our reception by the young man on duty. He was open until 9 p.m. and it didn't look as if he had had a single visitor. He looked disconcerted at the thought of charging us, and announced that admission was free today. He kindly looked after our shopping (water and wine) while we wandered around the little exhibition on the life and artifacts of the the original inhabitants, the Guanches, before the time of the Spanish conquest during the fifteenth century. Theirs seems to have been a simple culture, to judge by the clay cooking and household pots and other utensils on display, produced by firing in a blaze of twigs and light wood in crevices in the lava rocks. There was a replica of a tomb in a little cave, created naturally in the cooling lava. Apparently these have been discovered quite frequently.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ian caused total consternation when he decided to purchase a history of the island and its people up to the time of the conquest. The poor man had no idea how much it cost. Eventually he found a price - in pesetas, so we all had to work out the equivalent in euros. Then he had to find the keys to the till and sort out change. Anyway it was worth it, as Ian is delighted with his purchase and it made it all worth while keeping the museum open until 9 p.m. The locals are very proud of it, and there is an exhibition of how it came to occupy the pleasant premises it does after years of mouldering neglect.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Finally we returned to our room for a last glass of Canary wine on the balcony before going to eat at a little restaurant we had seen earlier in the less frequented fishing port area of the town, a few pedestrianised blocks from our hotel. We opted for the menu del dia at 6.50 Euros, which included more wine, a lovely local soup with meat vegetables and lentils followed by pork chop and salad, garnished, of course, with bananas.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Friday 26 April 2002</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We are now flying along the coast of Portugal, passing near Lisbon on our way home to Exeter. We were picked up from our hotel at 8.30 this morning and driven by coach along the ring road to the airport where huge crowds of people were slowly checked in before we boarded the plane for the three hour flight home. We are due in Exeter at 3.45 p.m. Our pilot has just pointed out that we are flying over the city of Porto in Portugal and will soon be entering the airspace of mainland Spain. The view is clear from the window beside me, down onto the top of the brown mountains of the Iberian peninsula. The pilot has also mentioned that he is "pedalling as fast as he can" to try to get us back to Exeter a few minutes early. He obviously has a sense of humor! </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And so we end a very pleasant, unexpected holiday in the Canaries. We had never thought of such a holiday but being prepared to experiment with a new experience offered on our doorstep has really paid off. The people were all helpful and friendly, the accommodation of a good standard in a pleasant location and we have been able to avoid the crowds and really explore the island to discover its geology, beautiful and spectacular scenery and little villages. It is too overcrowded around the southern edge with too much building and too many cars, but inland there is little possibility of locals making a living. We have seen very few domesticated animals except for goats and chickens and although we have seen maize growing on terraces we have seen no sign of cereal crops. I don't think I would like to go later in the year - too hot and too many visitors. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Editorial note</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This account has been transcribed virtually unchanged from Jill's original manuscript travel journal, industriously written up each evening or early the following day. It has been matched with Ian's photographs, digitised from colour prints made in the days before digital cameras were widespread, so they are often lacking sharpness, and after twenty years it has proved difficult to match them all with the precise locations where they were taken. With landscapes this does not matter so much but the image below totally defeated me. It is from somewhere in the north west of the island. Any suggestions? A Google image search was unsuccessful. At least identification will prove that someone has stuck with this account to the end.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAE56uYumkgo0le2I1NFEnWsjqrekoNIu95ckj2rW1we-1GJlRhXOhTDUWi0DP2wnlz28SE88UrGT4OAJgluIMeEgSkkGvtr4uDKv46jEa2tqac1L-8RJxecAmYdsotuG7U_AupaRY0zwgKxZzT7ysYdPG4XEYurKQQUpYx685RQ3Z5gr0A/s1280/770-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAE56uYumkgo0le2I1NFEnWsjqrekoNIu95ckj2rW1we-1GJlRhXOhTDUWi0DP2wnlz28SE88UrGT4OAJgluIMeEgSkkGvtr4uDKv46jEa2tqac1L-8RJxecAmYdsotuG7U_AupaRY0zwgKxZzT7ysYdPG4XEYurKQQUpYx685RQ3Z5gr0A/w400-h264/770-19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is the latest in a series of island-hopping travels made before the acquisition of our beloved camper van Modestine in 2005. They are a series of memory recovery exercises which started with <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-1-bastia-to-porto.html">Corsica in 1999</a>. Crete and Majorca - and perhaps others - remain to be done, if time and strength are granted to us. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ian Maxted (ianmaxted @ hotmail.co.uk)</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">November 2022</p></div></div></div>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-83759722203290932302022-11-07T16:48:00.000+00:002022-11-07T16:48:36.239+00:00Tenerife 2002. Part 1<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Friday 19 April 2002, 6 pm. Exeter Airport</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We are in the departure lounge and our flight leaves in one hour. We caught the bus from Exeter bus station, travelling via Woodbury, being driven at breakneck speed through the little Devon country lanes lined with bluebells and stitchwort, the sunlight sparkling on the fresh bright golden foliage of poplar trees and hawthorn hedgerows, the fields full of young lambs and healthy cattle - a complete contrast to last year with the foot and mouth crisis. For £1.60 each we have had our own personal taxi to the airport as frequently we were the only passengers. A wonderful way to start our holiday, and we've also done a full day's work before we start. Exeter is so much easier than Gatwick. It's a pity there's not a greater choice of destinations. Check-in has been so straightforward, despite the need for such enormous security precautions following 11th September last year. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>[Later]</b> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We are now flying across the English Channel. It looks as if we will pass across Brittany and touch the coast of Portugal. The journey time is two and a half hours and the distance 2,700 kilometers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Take-off was wonderful with the Devon countryside spread out below in shades of green and brown, with patches of bright yellow oil seed rape and the deep red soil of recently sown fields of arable crops and vegetables. Through it flowed the sinuous curves of the little River Clyst which joined the wide ribbon of the Exe Estuary as we flew over Topsham and turned seaward with Exmouth and the coast to our left and wonderful views of Dawlish Warren and the sandspit below us. I've always wanted to see Devon from the air and it surpassed all expectations. It's truly beautiful; even the motorway and Exeter Services looked wonderful with the tiny toy cars speeding along.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcfpb_gcUZqCXkzJvl3zbhxAcGYSbX0uGCl-yCL_yh2J37Sw3GKhVxOd0RPcDpirxF1mf7BeNP4w2VWDBPI4eIcpip5Fv92M5ncH1zyuIYotuKxPguOPthX_evBlEKIx_zsPGRF3O0BXyJ6oNyL000CaqFxn4JbJUiagmmmLW9Uptgl9Yaw/s1280/760-25-Dawlish-Warren.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1280" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcfpb_gcUZqCXkzJvl3zbhxAcGYSbX0uGCl-yCL_yh2J37Sw3GKhVxOd0RPcDpirxF1mf7BeNP4w2VWDBPI4eIcpip5Fv92M5ncH1zyuIYotuKxPguOPthX_evBlEKIx_zsPGRF3O0BXyJ6oNyL000CaqFxn4JbJUiagmmmLW9Uptgl9Yaw/w400-h272/760-25-Dawlish-Warren.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Exmouth and Dawlish Warren from the air</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then we were in the cloud cover until we came into bright sunshine above. We have just crossed Brittany far below, glimpsed through wisps of cotton clouds. We are six miles high and the south coast of Brittany is immediately below. The town of Lorient can be seen but it's all too small to identify much more. It's funny to think that we were down there last September. It seemed so far from home then, but now it's only twenty minutes since we left Exeter. I'm really excited, it's all such fun! Who cares where we are going, it's the joy of leaving from our local airport that is the making of this holiday!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We've just bought a couple of little bottles of Merlot wine, and some Pringle chips. At £6.00 it may be a high price to pay, but at six miles up it's pretty high anyway, so is to be expected. The wine is very powerful on an empty stomach and I'm feeling very woozy and relaxed. A video is showing and folk around are plugged into their earphones. It seems so surreal, drinking red wine before being served chicken fricassé and profiteroles while a western is shown on the in-flight video system, the sun shines outside with billowing clouds below, and below that traffic jams of Portugese commuters return home for the weekend after a hard day in the office.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-ly4-cHSltmOVoY-YhrRIVWzbJs9G_hxSlzSSu4ydFqsNiI6yNkXd3wnq4SUCdwSvlQAcNwwbFCh6vYWGftOCd6rLrZPwFPbfVIItkGskEu1srg3tdem81o4uHJT7ZLBHSpopYcyK7pbj2xBrVRD2q9ZgC3jJOpZlwY-OxNVm2880ODrdg/s1280/Tenerife-Wikimedia-Topographic_map_of_Tenerife-fr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-ly4-cHSltmOVoY-YhrRIVWzbJs9G_hxSlzSSu4ydFqsNiI6yNkXd3wnq4SUCdwSvlQAcNwwbFCh6vYWGftOCd6rLrZPwFPbfVIItkGskEu1srg3tdem81o4uHJT7ZLBHSpopYcyK7pbj2xBrVRD2q9ZgC3jJOpZlwY-OxNVm2880ODrdg/w400-h300/Tenerife-Wikimedia-Topographic_map_of_Tenerife-fr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Saturday 20 April 2002. Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife.</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">After a safe landing at Reina Sofia airport last night we were told that we would be staying on the other side of the island. A car was arranged for us and, together with a pleasant retired couple who had decided that morning to take a last-minute trip, we were whisked at 120 km an hour along the excellent dual carriageway round the edge of the island, bypassing the centre of Santa Cruz. In the dark the whole island seemed to be a long ribbon of sparkling, glittering lights. It seems to be very heavily populated and active all night. So far we have seen nothing inland, but assume that everything is concentrated around the edge. Our fellow travellers were left at a different hotel in the town, which seems big and most definitely noisy. Our self-catering accommodation in the Parc Plaza is well appointed with Spanish style heavy wooden furniture and pale flagged marble floors, a fully equipped bathroom with shower and bidet and a wooden balcony over the side of the hotel just off one of the busy squares. Not a pleasant outlook at all though perfectly clean with large pineapple palms growing nearby.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This morning is sunny with a gentle breeze, perfect for us and much cooler than Crete. However we are feeling a little jaded after a night of perpetual noise from the busy streets: dustcarts, street sweepers, drainage people and delivery vans throughout the night. The drone of machinery and roar of motorbikes - it's awful! Even with the windows closed the sound penetrates and it becomes stuffy. We found ourselves starving at about half past midnight, by the time we had reached our room and sorted out. We went out on the town, wondering if it was too late to find anything to eat. Too late? It was too early! We sat on a street terrace with a superb large beer and a pizza each, also excellent with pineapple and plenty of banana among the meat and peppers, watching mainly local people out to enjoy a Friday night with no work the following day. A lively unthreatening atmosphere, although hardly interesting architecturally. A pleasant square with geranium beds and palm trees surrounded by bars and street restaurants. It was perfectly comfortable at one in the morning sitting on the street with our beers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then we explored the side streets or pedestrianised calles down by the port. They were busy with couples and groups of young people, with tremendous noise coming from the night clubs. On some steeps steps lined with flowering shrubs and small palms we watched a small group of young local folk with lutes, acoustic guitars and some sort of rasping instrument, singing and playing lively Spanish music for their own entertainment. Their friends danced around and one in a wheelchair tapped out the rhythm. A happy local scene, innocuous, unthreatening behaviour by a group of youngsters in a town backstreet at 2 a.m. - I would not have objected to that outside our window. Then back to our room for a few hours fitful sleep, disturbed throughout by street noise.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This morning, after a shower we discovered we could purchase breakfast here in the hotel. It looked nice but, despite the range of food on offer it was, every bit of it, second-rate: horrid diluted orange juice, weak instant coffee, dry hard rolls or dry cotton-wool rolls, ham that was really reconstituted spam, flaccid cheese and the inevitable sugar-coated jam-filled pastries that form a part of any Spanish breakfast, as I desayuno if you travel in that part of the world. The ambiance was pleasant though with a nice waiter and spotless white damask cloths. The cost was eight Euros, which we reckon is about £5.00 for both of us, so cheap enough anyway. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Later</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We've spent the morning around the town and are currently back in our room where we've had rolls and wine on our cramped balcony. Ian is making coffee while we await the arrival of the First Choice tours representative who will let us know details for our return to the airport next week. Once that is sorted, I can contact the car hire people so that we can explore more of the island.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our morning has been well spent, and we are quite taken with the vibrant streets around our hotel. It does seem very different in daylight, thronged with people shopping, strolling, chatting in groups or taking drinks on the bright terraces of the many bars and restaurants. Many areas are completely pedestrianised, clean and bright with flowers and palm trees and lots of seats to relax in the shade. Not that shade is needed today; it is fresh and comfortable for walking without a jacket, but rather chill to sit around for long. We wandered around an open-air book fair selling Spanish literature. Nearby a group of schoolchildren had set up a little bookbinding group using frames and presses to stitch sections of books onto tapes and to make separate cases to bind them into. A very pleasant scene. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChY1EXw1nw1jIhjXJBRwnjB5z5y3wLj8084r19H8e8UBkfFYlpIUi6M7p_Tx6QW9G5gB7-A7gALzHk5V6KjgkptdbFRjrBa7r-q34LLJWq31a63t883kxl7hVimqXdk4zSUDZv5Z3g3p5FOcypJIUQ87AA96AbwxrEpNMnBDu69Sj4MLasA/s1198/760-28-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="1198" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChY1EXw1nw1jIhjXJBRwnjB5z5y3wLj8084r19H8e8UBkfFYlpIUi6M7p_Tx6QW9G5gB7-A7gALzHk5V6KjgkptdbFRjrBa7r-q34LLJWq31a63t883kxl7hVimqXdk4zSUDZv5Z3g3p5FOcypJIUQ87AA96AbwxrEpNMnBDu69Sj4MLasA/w400-h268/760-28-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Puerto de Santa Cruz. Bookbinding workshop</i></div><p style="text-align: justify;">We were accosted, obviously green, by a young man from Sheffield, eager to talk us into attending a timeshare presentation. It is astonishing how plausible arguments can be, assuring you of free prizes and fantastic value. You have won the only lucky scratchcard of the day and won his fortune for him as well. It seemed we would need a wheelie basket to lug away the huge pile of Euros waiting for us just around the corner. We even found ourselves dragged there and seated with our own advisor before we realised what was happening. Why they do it, I don't know and it is a waste of everybody's time. We insisted we did not want to spend our holiday learning how we could have another one completely free. In the end we just got up and left, foregoing all those lovely free Euros, bottles of champagne and free holidays. Instead we wandered by the sea front, watching huge white breakers rolling in across the Atlantic, crashing in foaming cascades upon the huge square, tumbling blocks of basalt placed as a defence for the newly constructed promenade. Down by the harbour we watched a fisherman deftly gutting squid, removing the cuttlefish bone and trowing back into the sea the ink sacs, eyes and intestines. He had a huge bucket of them to work through. I am not sure whether I could eat squid, but I ought to give it a try. There were many fish stalls selling huge arrays of squid, sardines, hake and many other varieties I have never encountered before.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our first purchase was at a pharmacy, where we stocked up on earplugs in the hope of ensuring a good night's sleep tonight. According to the local paper Ian is just reading 75% of the population of Tenerife suffer intolerable levels of noise pollution. I can well believe it! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCCOwJN7F-x8HfSOY5Km8GSbDQedweb9BpEMsqGgx7UzQUYWjOMx1ozFaNeB2itKWovaezF-Kr67_T1M0JcjehKhf38hHsbUidQozF_9lln3OHtMl5MhMC_S6SrN3yJgql9nZCh4oRuQjaCjLYAGIHnKT5ub_iRfCgMgqvJruouzgvX49BQ/s1280/760-27-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="835" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCCOwJN7F-x8HfSOY5Km8GSbDQedweb9BpEMsqGgx7UzQUYWjOMx1ozFaNeB2itKWovaezF-Kr67_T1M0JcjehKhf38hHsbUidQozF_9lln3OHtMl5MhMC_S6SrN3yJgql9nZCh4oRuQjaCjLYAGIHnKT5ub_iRfCgMgqvJruouzgvX49BQ/w261-h400/760-27-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Puerto de Cruz. Casa de la Aduana</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In a pretty little square, surrounded by white plastered houses with big, dark, wooden balconies and red tiled roofs, stood a large Catholic church. Around it the square had beds of blooming geraniums, petunias and begonias. Again, the large trees lent shade to the seats below, and banana plants also flourished. We entered the marble-floored church. Everything is large, heavy, ornate and rounded. Rounded arches, rounded columns, heavily decorated in gold painted bas-reliefs of leaves and tendrils. There were a number of side-altars, ornately decorated, and with painted panels depicting the lives of the saints. Here, as in northern Spain, the strange custom exists of dressing the statues on the altars. Thus there were several side-altars with Barbie-doll Madonnas wearing sparking velvet robes and with painted faces. The worst one of all actually had Mary sporting a long-haired wig of auburn curls.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2o4tOA-aIDTJm0lAKJdqGAgauZwE9ptmorW3hkMelqPZ54dl3CELYRrexcBoyodIsT_8DClRVFst0yYIu3pqe6C4Rn8c1VQ6TAy7_8EvMtaEhLgTg5yY4nq5H3HUFwyj6e7T6YcM2xfOy0tO8u4pFLRtYNWGy2ntWuYS88QP8f0TFKAXniQ/s1280/760-29-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="863" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2o4tOA-aIDTJm0lAKJdqGAgauZwE9ptmorW3hkMelqPZ54dl3CELYRrexcBoyodIsT_8DClRVFst0yYIu3pqe6C4Rn8c1VQ6TAy7_8EvMtaEhLgTg5yY4nq5H3HUFwyj6e7T6YcM2xfOy0tO8u4pFLRtYNWGy2ntWuYS88QP8f0TFKAXniQ/w270-h400/760-29-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Puerto de Santa Cruz. Plaza de la Iglesia</i></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Instead of lighting candles to represent prayers, this church had moved with the times and introduced new technology. For twenty Euro cents your candle would light up with an electric flame for a certain number of minutes. Then the light would go out until you fed the meter again. Astonishing, and it had Ian, for the first time in his life, fumbling to find twenty cents in his purse, just so that he could see the red light flicker on his chosen candle at the feet of the bewigged Barbie-doll Madonna.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We returned to our apartment, stopping to purchase essential supplies (wine and water) at a little supermarket - apparently the water is not safe to drink.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is now evening. We attended the lunchtime meeting with our tour rep but didn't really fancy any of the organised visits to aquaparks and zoos. Those to Mount Teide we can sort out for ourselves. <span style="text-align: left;">We rang the car hire company, Niza, with whom I had sorted a
deal on the internet before we left </span><st1:city style="text-align: left;" w:st="on">Exeter</st1:city><span style="text-align: left;">.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">They called to collect us at our hotel and we
arrange to hire the little Daewoo Matisse for five days for 100 Euros fully
comprehensive. I think that's about £12.00 a day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So we set off in the little car […] along the coast in the
direction of San Marco. I got used to
the little car quite quickly and we passed through a number of little tunnels
cut through the various lava flows that cascaded down the mountainside when <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Mount</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Teide</st1:placename></st1:place>
was originally formed. The roads are
quite reasonable and generally drivers are not aggressive and drive at sensible
speeds.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We turned off and parked at San Juan de la Rambla, a non-touristy
little village where a funeral was taking place at the little red tiled
whitewashed church. The funeral car was
covered in a mass of rather garish wreaths and mourners stood around outside
the church doors, weeping into their handkerchiefs.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We walked through the little town that appears to have no shops,
but lots of streets of old residential houses, many in terraces staggering up
the mountainside. It seemed a genuine
non-tourist village with a powerful community atmosphere. The whitewashed little houses in peach, lemon,
orange or white all had dark wooden doors and little balconies. Front doorsteps frequently sported pots of
cactuses or geraniums.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyz9PslfyzIegrdKsWlU4Dy3OZbD9LhOADDQczwUkRoTOfgtpQzRpNAp7K1gsyacBdTj6PQwEQm_csXZ6kHqZ9hv3_AJOw-dhCmkCkbKGIGhXbe40duB0JCDdE4rBsAfWnFGgWOamO1sKN_dxMhM9BvmLaoqbD8cRMh3A6YPmzVqd3Ww_t_w/s1280/760-30-S-Juan-Rambla.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyz9PslfyzIegrdKsWlU4Dy3OZbD9LhOADDQczwUkRoTOfgtpQzRpNAp7K1gsyacBdTj6PQwEQm_csXZ6kHqZ9hv3_AJOw-dhCmkCkbKGIGhXbe40duB0JCDdE4rBsAfWnFGgWOamO1sKN_dxMhM9BvmLaoqbD8cRMh3A6YPmzVqd3Ww_t_w/w400-h259/760-30-S-Juan-Rambla.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">San Juan de la Rambla</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The most interesting thing though was that almost every
house had a bright red banner from the balcony with white painted accusations
against the local mayor and council, accusing them of betraying the inhabitants
and selling their heritage. It appears
there are definite plans to construct a huge bridge or viaduct above the
village the carry the main circular road that will soon encircle the entire island. But I doubt they'll succeed in preventing the
next link in the chain being constructed, but they are most definitely making
their feelings heard, and not without justification. It will quite destroy the little town little
town, which is currently a pretty little place with palm trees growing along its
cobbled streets and delightful views down on to the black volcanic beach below
or along the coast to las Roques, high mounds rising from the sea some way
off. Is such a pity that progress is to
destroy of the beauty of the countryside and the peaceful way of life that has
existed in the village like this for generations.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We continued along the coast before turning inland to visit the
town of <st1:city w:st="on">Icod</st1:city> de
los Vinos, famous obviously for its wine. It is also surrounded by endless plantations
of bananas running down to the sea. The trees are heavy with them in huge green
clumps, all pointing upwards between the big flat leaves of the trees.<span style="text-align: justify;"> We didn't in fact see many vines, though some were apparent in the valley along the side of the little town. What we did see were a couple of dragon trees. These are apparently the symbol of the Canary Islands, and one of them is reputed to be at least a thousand years old and the oldest on the islands. They are strong trees with long, thin, grey trunks which fork into hundreds of branches at the very top. The end of each seems to bear a cactus-like clump of leaves. Standing beneath and looking up the light shines through making most attractive patterns.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDtzeTMfdzr49nMNYFYTJ9_YbI7VVZPZSFvJu9AxoW3OLlzlsh5bBrFjDEcoHLs2y6-PuQwwttyMKQkCMOLOT7kAHQP5oBZXP8VR318lznIPIK0NQ1NvG8H5URqK_oT8LMPv_mcDuSFR-JI--m8ZiX7kDHOiWdVUwjE3aVFrRj_Ggr6dvqg/s1280/760-31-Icod.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="856" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDtzeTMfdzr49nMNYFYTJ9_YbI7VVZPZSFvJu9AxoW3OLlzlsh5bBrFjDEcoHLs2y6-PuQwwttyMKQkCMOLOT7kAHQP5oBZXP8VR318lznIPIK0NQ1NvG8H5URqK_oT8LMPv_mcDuSFR-JI--m8ZiX7kDHOiWdVUwjE3aVFrRj_Ggr6dvqg/w268-h400/760-31-Icod.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Icod de los Vinos. Drago Milenario</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The town is full of narrow paved streets of local basalt stone. The buildings are white rendered with volcanic stone used for facings around the doors and windows, with strong use made of massive wooden doors and balconies. It is a style common throughout Tenerife and similar to mainland Spain, except for the strong use of dark volcanic stone. Houses are frequently very large, constructed around a central courtyard open to the sky, and filled with cactuses and palm trees, frequently with an ornate heavy wooden balcony running around all four sides of the upper floor level with wooden doors leading off to huge wooden-floored rooms with dark wooden shutters. These often have little flaps in the shutters that can be propped open to permit a limited amount of light and air into a room while maintaining the dark, cool shade within.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;">We bought a piece of chocolate cake from a stallholder as by now we were both very hungry. We returned to Puerto de la Cruz along the tortuous mountain road rather than along the fast coastal route. This took us through a number of little hill towns such as La Guancha. The route was fairly narrow and twisting but very reasonable compared to Corsica or even Crete. There were a number of buses we had to manoeuver around on bends on the road or little bridges across deep narrow gorges. The hills were dark volcanic rock sticking out from the green of the woods and shrubs and with many wild flowers around. We climbed up and up, not quite realising how far or how steeply until we stopped at the mirador at the top of the pass and looked down at the coast, the coast road and the endless banana plantations far below. So steep and far away did it all look that it caused a wriggling sensation in the pit of the stomach, whist above us the mountainside disappeared into the mists of cloud cover.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;">There was then a steady descent through towns and villages, twisting and turning until we reached Puerto. </span>As we went down into Puerto along steep back streets, we came upon a little square surrounded by houses. There were several palm trees and beneath was a rich crop of some green plant being browsed by what seemed like hundreds of black and brown goats. Many of them were clambering on their hind legs up the trunks of the trees and the walls of the houses. We simply had to drive slowly between them all, and on into the town's endless one-way systems. We wove our way around the town, making for the sea front and then along until we found the area we had walked this morning, along the new promenade which will eventually form a botanic garden. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBhriUJu_8c1yrqnPZnNkTEDTLUQqZIiVQ0NS4zR-puCk65-6o0zBMrypzpOe0IugyKdJ_tbRo1KCnaQsHYHv6jo7bkvpCS6ULWPQtA4HU6vK2HS9h3z34a6YBtAi5mzxK2JT2AKw6z636cpfJNWZFNUPLhxjmh7hTIycsvYAui9_WFJu2A/s1280/760-32-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBhriUJu_8c1yrqnPZnNkTEDTLUQqZIiVQ0NS4zR-puCk65-6o0zBMrypzpOe0IugyKdJ_tbRo1KCnaQsHYHv6jo7bkvpCS6ULWPQtA4HU6vK2HS9h3z34a6YBtAi5mzxK2JT2AKw6z636cpfJNWZFNUPLhxjmh7hTIycsvYAui9_WFJu2A/w400-h264/760-32-Puerto-Cruz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Puerto de Santa Cruz. Fishermen on the quay</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Currently the circus is in town, but parking around there is free. We left the car there with thousands of others, emptied out all our belongings, and walked back to our hotel. The streets are all lined with cars; the town is densely populated and everyone seems to own a vehicle. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;">We have been sitting drinking wine while I write this. Ian has dozed off, so I will wake him now at 10.30 and we'll go out to find supper. We have been told that, as it is the weekend, the night clubs will all run until six tomorrow morning. I hope those earplugs work!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Sunday 21 April 2002</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We found a pleasant-looking restaurant on the local square last night. By the time we arrived it was 11.30. I've wanted to try paella ever since we arrived, but our request was met with horror - at this time of night! Apparently we were far too late for seafood paella, but were offered seafood spaghetti instead. I went for that, while Ian erred on the side of caution and chose spaghetti carbonara and some German beer. Not much of a local feel to that! We were advised to go back tonight and they would cook us a special paella, but to go earlier. So, it seems that Spanish food is served from eight to nine and Italian food from the until two in the morning, which seems a little strange. The seafood spaghetti was perfectly acceptable, full of various seashells and round white chewy strips of what looked like rubber bands, and tasted somewhat similar - from my experience of eating such things. All was richly coated in a fresh herb and oil dressing and the spaghetti was delicious, if messy to eat. Good fun though, and I suspect that I have now eaten squid in the form of the elastic bands. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This morning we decided to give breakfast downstairs a miss as it's so awful. Instead we have made strong coffee which we are drinking on our balcony with banana cake and local bananas. The weather is dull, the sky grey, and the temperature requires a light jacket - just what you would expect off the coast of Africa toward the end of April. Ian wants us to drive up above the clouds and explore Mount Teida. It sounds a good plan, but I think I'll take my long trousers and pullover. There will probably be snow up there anyway.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Sunday evening.</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Yes, there was snow, but in fact it was considerably warmer than down here. However, before recounting our adventures up on Teide, there is much else to tell. I think we will have to take more boring holidays as I'm always up half the night recalling the events of the day.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We drove first to La Orotava, not far from Puerto. We had heard that it was lovely, but nothing prepared us for just how beautiful a town it is. It has 36,000 inhabitants in two main areas but the special part of course is the old town. There were not too many people around on a Sunday morning, so we parked near the church at the foot of the very steep climb up into the old town. The streets are black basalt cobbled, staircase-steep with colour-rendered ancient houses on either side, interspersed with little chapels, sometimes only distinguishable from the houses because of a plain wooden cross beside the large brown wooden door.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0dBrTED62ipKdbYLPubbJxjDogOPdTwuB2MQcabIc8TnrCjNoXBt4nex9T7dzgqjvjCR1zs4nGSf47ZiILjQeRy0vR3j_dfKqNLYSIbiZQkcvXVLgd98eOBRpQOIr0oAg1CZFqIS94PbqJ1DLc9qnwehc9TQOy70fIk7cJIYQf5wvQ1gtQ/s1280/760-33-Orotava.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0dBrTED62ipKdbYLPubbJxjDogOPdTwuB2MQcabIc8TnrCjNoXBt4nex9T7dzgqjvjCR1zs4nGSf47ZiILjQeRy0vR3j_dfKqNLYSIbiZQkcvXVLgd98eOBRpQOIr0oAg1CZFqIS94PbqJ1DLc9qnwehc9TQOy70fIk7cJIYQf5wvQ1gtQ/w400-h264/760-33-Orotava.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>La Orotava. Calle del Escultor Estevez</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The place was full of local people arriving for mass, dressed in their Sunday best. Large groups of children were led in single file, presumably to children's Sunday school. As they passed us they exuded a smell of clean soap and sweets.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The grandest and most spectacular house we saw was the House of the Balconies, a huge building with a vast decorated wooden door studded with brass. Inside is a magnificent old cobbled courtyard with an ornate balcony around, beautifully carved and with delicate tracery, giving anyone on the other side a chance to see out without being seen. All in brown painted wood and supported on thick wooden columns set into volcanic stone plinths. In the centre of the courtyard, a fountain played in a stone trough and tall palm trees reached high above, providing a green, cool, shady area below. Around the walls canaries sang in their cages, pots of green shrubs and old wooden tools provided immense visual interest. There was a grape crushing press, and on either side rooms led off into gift shops where lace and decorated table linen was sold along with demonstrations as to exactly how they were made. Personally I thought this part rather horrid, but I suppose it must be popular.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTscD_rEsX03Ps_I40Q4CDUPjzxhKwxPhU4c5Gy2_bMYS2pqau1JL_2UVNP_3nTSl23qYs5HhwolyBEut2S0Jo6ktX3pfc-sbLHCe4oKyysq8BNEZhWKctONeR1YfGT7BGRa-ow_LZyEKzgIuD2i1iIj2zzeaAzDlfAClZd60__MGyI3nQAw/s1280/760-36-Orotava.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="1280" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTscD_rEsX03Ps_I40Q4CDUPjzxhKwxPhU4c5Gy2_bMYS2pqau1JL_2UVNP_3nTSl23qYs5HhwolyBEut2S0Jo6ktX3pfc-sbLHCe4oKyysq8BNEZhWKctONeR1YfGT7BGRa-ow_LZyEKzgIuD2i1iIj2zzeaAzDlfAClZd60__MGyI3nQAw/w400-h274/760-36-Orotava.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>La Orotava. From Plaza de la Constitucion</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Across the road a mirador gave views down onto the Orotava Valley, or would have done if it hadn't been so hazy. Upwards the mountains disappeared into the cloud cover, but it was obvious that terraces had been created all the way up to sustain agriculture. Goats roamed everywhere, munching their way through purple thistles and endless acres of scarlet nasturtiums that grow wild everywhere here. Higher up the street was a roadside garden full of exotic plants, cactuses, drum lilies, money plants and palms, with a fountain of flowing water. Opposite was the church of St Francis with all the local people coming out from mass. They were typically Spanish in appearance, mainly middle-aged rather plump people - there seems no link with Tenerife's earlier indigenous population, the Guanches.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWE_FYKNb_fIWlP-nS_OHF3Qov17ZaE173Lbstkx-7QAg__oyjzzD6K4tsP6_zIEkrn8v4N8SzaXf747VW7vOICOfkhUNnbOsLIhDaycEHZwidv435nk75AG2aTVipvj8Sp8mge8D5Lui_UEtMfzrOqwAqTM_rAxK7jsNPEV1NA_rQQ6Luvg/s1280/760-35-Orotava.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="820" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWE_FYKNb_fIWlP-nS_OHF3Qov17ZaE173Lbstkx-7QAg__oyjzzD6K4tsP6_zIEkrn8v4N8SzaXf747VW7vOICOfkhUNnbOsLIhDaycEHZwidv435nk75AG2aTVipvj8Sp8mge8D5Lui_UEtMfzrOqwAqTM_rAxK7jsNPEV1NA_rQQ6Luvg/w256-h400/760-35-Orotava.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>La Orotava. San Francisco</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Once they left, we went in to see the interior. Our eyes became accustomed to the deep gloom and we saw the baroque side altars, heavy paintings and the usual dressed statues of the saints. This time the Virgin was in white silk with a high stand-up lace collar, lots of starch and tinsel with crescent moons around her feet.. She was holding an equally astonishing baby Jesus, also in white silk and lace. Ian couldn't resist popping a fifty cent coin into the meter to watch a whole row of candles suddenly flicker into life, little red flames flashing on and off. His delight was short-lived however as, mass over, the priest unplugged the holy candles, cutting Ian's prayers off in mid-flow. He then locked the outside door of the church before seeing us in the gloom, so ushered us out through the back way. This led into the Hospice of the Holy Trinity which is a sanatorium for the sick. We found ourselves in a large courtyard with three or four tall palm trees, while around the edge three or four wheelchair-bound invalids sat on the white marble flags with their backs to the white wall of the building. This was not normally open to the public but nobody seemed to mind us there. The priest just disappeared and left us. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">One of the patients, disabled and elderly but able to walk,
took us by the hand and led us to a door, not to let us out but to show us a
tiny revolving drum in the door itself which, when he turned it inwards,
revealed a small chamber with a pillow and soft duvet. It looked as if it ought
to have a tiny baby inside. At the time we were mystified but have since
discovered it is intended as a receptacle for foundling babies deposited at the
church door. So that was an adventure most tourists would be unlikely to
encounter. We left by the foundlings' door and climbed high along the steep
streets, past the smaller residential houses of the local people, many at their
windows, some of whom called ¡hola! to us as we passed. At the top there is a
superb vista down onto the roofs of the town below, all large heavy red tiles
and colour-rendered walls. Generally the town is in an excellent state of repair
with some astonishingly well preserved 17</span><sup style="text-align: left;">th</sup><span style="text-align: left;"> century houses built on
a grand scale with ornate baroque or even rococo facades with much use made of
local stone for facing around doors and windows. Many houses had their own
wooden balconies and matching wooden shutters and doors. Anywhere they could,
flowers, shrubs and plants with huge leaves in enormous tubs had been placed,
giving colour and life to every corner.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Descending one of the side streets, we came across the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">church</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">St John</st1:placename></st1:place> the Baptist with crowds of
well-dressed people talking outside. We went into the church to discover mass
in full swing, and stopped to listen. All was in clear Spanish and, being the
mass itself, which I am familiar with from my years in a convent school,
despite it being in Latin in my youth, it was easy enough to follow – the sermon
less so but a good opportunity to hear the language pronounced clearly. I'd
come each Sunday, if I lived here, it is such an excellent way to listen and
learn. The church was packed with people joining for a while, then going
outside to talk with friends and then returning again. All very casual!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Leaving the church, we continued downhill along a side street.
An inconspicuous doorway attracted our attention because of the stream of
portly middle-aged gentlemen entering and then reappearing with large square
boxes. Closer inspection showed it to be a baker's shop selling hot cakes like –
well, hot cakes. Sticky mille-feuilles confections were being sold faster than
they could leave the oven, with the shop packed. They were obviously a weekend
speciality, and probably explained why so many husbands were leaving during the
mass, their wives and children being collected later, after the cakes had been
secured. Those wise husbands who had placed regular orders went to a special window to collect their boxes, and on the way out lifted the lids to lovingly admire the contents and show them to their foolish neighbours still queuing. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ian brought out his best Spanish and asked if we could eat in - it looked as if it was also a cafe but with no room to eat. We were led through a doorway, out through the kitchens to a little, shaded, covered courtyard with a few other couples eating Sunday lunch. We sat among the palm trees and opted for the set meal of the day - vegetable and goat's meat soup with vermicelli followed by a huge plateful of beef roundels, vegetables and chips, and then apple pie, homemade but not as exciting as English apple pie, with cream. We were given a carafe of local red wine and added to it a bottle of mineral water and two espresso coffees that knocked you backwards. We had a lovely waiter who spoke the odd word of German but no English. Everyone else in the restaurant was local, and it felt so nice to be in what was most definitely a local venue undiscovered by visitors. A long table next to us had been taken by a three-generation family and we enjoyed watching them all in what was obviously a very familiar weekend activity. They were well known to all the staff and other customers. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Leaving a long queue of people still awaiting the endless stream of trays of sticky cakes emerging from the kitchens, we continued to a magnificent palatial building at the top of a flight of steps up through gardens full of exotic plants and flowers. The building is a club, Licio de Taoro, named after the former tribal area of the Guanches. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugYNyz8B-PTCG4LfBLwsMl1SbSJAkAOw-Y5bkRC886HFNXP8HALTzi43zFdNaaINwKZKEfyeYDlN1F3ePKW9xKNfeLknetJM7XPnQ7EPA3bSMmk8ghfOgz1XEAbTymYd5XaAFHrBKHphL3VV6CUHTz3AZkttHF6FXFB0cfUV07lYFYa3vSg/s1280/770-00-Orotava.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugYNyz8B-PTCG4LfBLwsMl1SbSJAkAOw-Y5bkRC886HFNXP8HALTzi43zFdNaaINwKZKEfyeYDlN1F3ePKW9xKNfeLknetJM7XPnQ7EPA3bSMmk8ghfOgz1XEAbTymYd5XaAFHrBKHphL3VV6CUHTz3AZkttHF6FXFB0cfUV07lYFYa3vSg/w400-h259/770-00-Orotava.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>La Orotava. Liceo de Taoro, gardens</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We were permitted inside, and it certainly has a club feel, with large rooms full of comfortable chairs and sofas, a bar, pool table and library. The was also an exhibition room with photographs of marine life. The long corridors are lined with photographs of Miss Orotava going back to the early 1950s and a poster advertising for entrants for the 2002 contest. All the girls were very pretty and very Spanish in appearance with scarves tied around their heads and straw hats at jaunty angles. They all wore national costume. Rather nice pictures for a gentleman's club!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6Yg7TssrzLuDrCSBr8errq6SbnzPu0ZD7Ujjx-STc2pCMJ9CO9tQwUVN0eFbeWMeECY1Klldj05CcmN4-IsvPCRqpNVTR653lpGhUKrXygS4r7fwJUYwhT-bzFxMzqNrO4s5Dy99CH2l1YAIkCSWXHA48XNxib2pNlD-Nif5LhoQPqyrZQ/s1280/770-01-Orotava.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1280" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6Yg7TssrzLuDrCSBr8errq6SbnzPu0ZD7Ujjx-STc2pCMJ9CO9tQwUVN0eFbeWMeECY1Klldj05CcmN4-IsvPCRqpNVTR653lpGhUKrXygS4r7fwJUYwhT-bzFxMzqNrO4s5Dy99CH2l1YAIkCSWXHA48XNxib2pNlD-Nif5LhoQPqyrZQ/w400-h269/770-01-Orotava.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>La Orotava. Liceo de Taoro, library</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Once a year there is a festival on the streets of Orotava and pictures are created on the flagstones of religious scenes or long carpet patterns, all made up from flowers, or frequently powdered pumice stone from the lava flows of Mount Teide, which come in an astonishing range of different colours. The streets are closed to traffic and roped off, the visiting crowds confined to the very edges. There were also photographs in the club of the range of pictures created over the years. The main area is the vast open space in front of the magnificent town hall with a different religious theme each year. The scale of the work and the quality of workmanship are both awe-inspiring, to judge from the photographs we saw.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNPc210wZJXNX-tdpIftIsa9Fw2uo3VeBQXrdtO1leqFBpX0xkvrx4yWLzk8N5tOtr22L0iRh9boSoZux8KRw-Jp7nmWD_ArbuMyaZgC2CKukeC1QooQKHR23tDRJ4FxjTyNDE6vfNW2PDuFvhFFxeFQO8sM6UyP814wgW8oNGYxP0R6h9g/s1280/770-02-Orotava.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="848" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNPc210wZJXNX-tdpIftIsa9Fw2uo3VeBQXrdtO1leqFBpX0xkvrx4yWLzk8N5tOtr22L0iRh9boSoZux8KRw-Jp7nmWD_ArbuMyaZgC2CKukeC1QooQKHR23tDRJ4FxjTyNDE6vfNW2PDuFvhFFxeFQO8sM6UyP814wgW8oNGYxP0R6h9g/w265-h400/770-02-Orotava.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>La Orotava. Municipal Library</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We made our way back to the car. The weather was cold, and we were decidedly chilly without our jackets, which we had unwisely left in the car. The little town is wonderful, and we could easily have spent the whole day there but wanted to get above the clouds and visit Teidi.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ian's map was not necessary. Just find a road going steeply upwards and follow it. As long as it's full of twists and climbing steadily it's bound to end up on the slopes of Teidi. We ascended some 2,300 meters in all (about 8,000 feet, twice the height of Ben Nevis). Teidi is the highest point in Spanish territory and probably the highest volcano in Europe. The road was quite reasonable but rather tight if coaches were encountered on any of the hundreds of bends. As we climbed, we ran into the cloud cover at around 500 meters to 900 meters. This was awful; thick fog requiring headlights on a perpetual series of twists and turns with only the dim glow of oncoming lights to warn you of the traffic descending. Being Sunday, it was busy with families out for post-lunch fun or picnics in the forests above the cloud cover.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Just as I thought we were mad to have come, and never going to reach the top, we emerged into bright sunshine among heathers the size of trees with a cotton-wool sea of cloud billowing below us. The road continued to twist upward for some 35 Km, the landscape changing as we went. Scrub land and heather gave way to Monterrey pines and the slopes of the surrounding hillsides and valleys were thickly forested, with families walking or playing in the woods. Higher up, the lava flows, full of holes and bubbles in a yellow-brown colour, showed where the road had been cut through. Vegetation became more sparse. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgck0SdpqLHAU-XA-WY0fFUxab6aZQgEgTrr3drmqXaZ0gtQdqznkSfQH1wJWEKfamKu_NdeGzZAUd4qa1xnZuv7RYAawZaeaKrwXjk057mTKuL9P1SiImwLwvEp17e88P9YtZpgQA8pEVTVGTfbUS_dlRDEGgrKdy0kvoND4FrWnWsi_ijqA/s1280/770-03-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="852" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgck0SdpqLHAU-XA-WY0fFUxab6aZQgEgTrr3drmqXaZ0gtQdqznkSfQH1wJWEKfamKu_NdeGzZAUd4qa1xnZuv7RYAawZaeaKrwXjk057mTKuL9P1SiImwLwvEp17e88P9YtZpgQA8pEVTVGTfbUS_dlRDEGgrKdy0kvoND4FrWnWsi_ijqA/w266-h400/770-03-Canadas.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Las Cañadas. </i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Woodland was replaced by low growing mountain plants, many with stems of purple flowers. Eventually even these disappeared and we found ourselves in a stunning, bare, volcanic landscape that must surely be the closest equivalent to the surface of the moon to be found on earth.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOf73qM9EDJcrHxVWUHI6Um_zJt4PaE9INeV1ErVUPy53JYC61UaNIEWDeCVL3s-X21-oOSUqpDSt3oTn1VsOvQmu0Kfn33TDrxxCw8WSIw4MxFwrNA0mr42RY-64EMtIli-FgU6ZliPOeo8h1dYPSEduVm7QukAGP4lQ25KMC5jUG2aojpw/s1280/770-04-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1280" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOf73qM9EDJcrHxVWUHI6Um_zJt4PaE9INeV1ErVUPy53JYC61UaNIEWDeCVL3s-X21-oOSUqpDSt3oTn1VsOvQmu0Kfn33TDrxxCw8WSIw4MxFwrNA0mr42RY-64EMtIli-FgU6ZliPOeo8h1dYPSEduVm7QukAGP4lQ25KMC5jUG2aojpw/w400-h258/770-04-Canadas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIsmXEGANwLQ6suZqlaFmUGIoitIo5DFQgDGz2oIVWG6zkZ92Y0EM_yyshUAwWcaDwLtjozCUcOWXVjZK8c8aSEXQnMkRmkHiDtqWRW1DI1JtxgTKHQeS77m_rlXijNdAbFDCQZKCSFuVyWqQqCDQZg2zXPodbhf3YHQWx88-D8TB9mUD7YA/s1280/770-05-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1280" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIsmXEGANwLQ6suZqlaFmUGIoitIo5DFQgDGz2oIVWG6zkZ92Y0EM_yyshUAwWcaDwLtjozCUcOWXVjZK8c8aSEXQnMkRmkHiDtqWRW1DI1JtxgTKHQeS77m_rlXijNdAbFDCQZKCSFuVyWqQqCDQZg2zXPodbhf3YHQWx88-D8TB9mUD7YA/w400-h250/770-05-Canadas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>In the Teidi National Park</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We entered the area of the National Park and the enormous caldera of the Teidi volcano and stopped climbing. From here on the road was fairly flat, surrounded on all sides by the distant walls of the volcano. The caldera is about ten miles across, with the snow-covered cone of Teidi still rising above to our right. A cable-car takes visitors nearly to the top of the cone but did not appear to be running - not that we felt it necessary to go; we were far too awestruck by what we could see from below. Not a blade of grass, no vegetation at all except that here and there a rock plant would attempt to establish an ineffectual hold in some crevice in the bubbly, coloured volcanic rock. What looked like lichen turned out to be gravelly pumice in tiny nodules ranging in colour from green, yellow and grey through to red, orange and purple. At first Ian said that it looked like "Dartmoor with attitude" but that soon proved to be an understatement as huge, contorted, jagged shapes of lava protruded through the sea of pumice, frequently dark red or purple in colour, surrounded by pumice in a contrasting colour with patches of white snow packed into shady crevices. The sun was bright and warm but there was a strong wind that was capable of actually blowing pieces of pumice around as it is so light. I was able to lift large boulders of the stuff and felt like Superwoman.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTqWyu0Poyhy9h_PeM_mzxKn2IrR1XBTPeAN5_T9AuUHnFSKaKRo390JLRH8IPcb8C2KU7cG0aHQylWbX5oobvHSQSBWG2rgVaQS00_RbBOgCe58s6VGDkAFLnyf1ip3CNleONfnnTE9PPXhd5FZ2xhcQpaz-fo1vB4smziFw8jIQcynzrg/s1280/770-06-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="857" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTqWyu0Poyhy9h_PeM_mzxKn2IrR1XBTPeAN5_T9AuUHnFSKaKRo390JLRH8IPcb8C2KU7cG0aHQylWbX5oobvHSQSBWG2rgVaQS00_RbBOgCe58s6VGDkAFLnyf1ip3CNleONfnnTE9PPXhd5FZ2xhcQpaz-fo1vB4smziFw8jIQcynzrg/w268-h400/770-06-Canadas.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Las Cañadas. Superwoman Jill</i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We parked and went for a mountain stroll, striking out across the pumice, which is rather like walking across the beach with it crunching and sliding beneath your feet. We walked to a ridge where the wind from the valley caught us full on and was quite chilling. Below was a wide valley of lava rocks in strange shapes with not a plant to be seen, just endless lava and pumice to the far wall of the caldera. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiv3DSEFCMBpIS3G40OVGbnHTsPJv-8aUaWwfNJANQmKEhJVFf6pvTFAsdlk9hI8kb-67a8IJzUoMaJ3fw3Q2uchY_8Hd7c8M8o0ItcDTSiu3fQyOPWKRZ9DHyKDkucVCskarze4dH8FYpG70tH2ssq5DeFMOWQoLbtW8JyHyIwrPaKh0P9Q/s1280/770-07-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="849" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiv3DSEFCMBpIS3G40OVGbnHTsPJv-8aUaWwfNJANQmKEhJVFf6pvTFAsdlk9hI8kb-67a8IJzUoMaJ3fw3Q2uchY_8Hd7c8M8o0ItcDTSiu3fQyOPWKRZ9DHyKDkucVCskarze4dH8FYpG70tH2ssq5DeFMOWQoLbtW8JyHyIwrPaKh0P9Q/w265-h400/770-07-Canadas.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Las Cañadas. Lava chimney</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0IakvrF9rteFs-P_XkggfLS0axCdXIwzoC4r1sBdV9aN4j1FqRN3WeqlKDP7pzf2iu4dGdRISqAMq0HQ2PJP0zdKACdU7DiQVg0URuIdt6DS7YQgo2e7qQw7cry64AV960BnNqw78DahBDxfnAeVTlNn2bRg3TXNsgr0xZevQ8WGuXLi0A/s1280/770-08-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0IakvrF9rteFs-P_XkggfLS0axCdXIwzoC4r1sBdV9aN4j1FqRN3WeqlKDP7pzf2iu4dGdRISqAMq0HQ2PJP0zdKACdU7DiQVg0URuIdt6DS7YQgo2e7qQw7cry64AV960BnNqw78DahBDxfnAeVTlNn2bRg3TXNsgr0xZevQ8WGuXLi0A/w400-h263/770-08-Canadas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Las Cañadas. Wall of the caldera </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdlEXX4WYR6x-7PqStgKbnnEebankD7G9b8_KHQax9xa_fmTR1lTRvgGz5bvBlodZ-4nGABaH-YEZapV6eeuRD_mw5PesmC1aq_bzSos7rETv74P4Ut7XTqzcnJg5WF99mIh-UDUSaqYC11opjC7-OYjd8OsNILiTcdH4K6m7THKjpQGuhg/s1280/770-09-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdlEXX4WYR6x-7PqStgKbnnEebankD7G9b8_KHQax9xa_fmTR1lTRvgGz5bvBlodZ-4nGABaH-YEZapV6eeuRD_mw5PesmC1aq_bzSos7rETv74P4Ut7XTqzcnJg5WF99mIh-UDUSaqYC11opjC7-OYjd8OsNILiTcdH4K6m7THKjpQGuhg/w400-h263/770-09-Canadas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Las Cañadas. Mount Teidi in background </i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoI4HVtmnWDFXh2ep2K-J6Ki6Bx_GmwjH3NAGkUbLZpxW0cYIMGYCKBwyXhqFcn-1lwDrPMGDMPq-pFupEQGKsVo9Dp8rlR3Lus6hL52J9ufkPySFyd45_vuJkg6VWRMW2qAFVkwZ6QefgX2HcVTuBxKHazaN17H4apNVeX0eySz85zankig/s1280/770-10-Canadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoI4HVtmnWDFXh2ep2K-J6Ki6Bx_GmwjH3NAGkUbLZpxW0cYIMGYCKBwyXhqFcn-1lwDrPMGDMPq-pFupEQGKsVo9Dp8rlR3Lus6hL52J9ufkPySFyd45_vuJkg6VWRMW2qAFVkwZ6QefgX2HcVTuBxKHazaN17H4apNVeX0eySz85zankig/w400-h265/770-10-Canadas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Las Cañadas. A game of snowballs</i></div><br />After a surreal game of snowballs we continued to the Roques de Garcia, a range of rocks which were formerly the chimneys of the volcano which were formed of harder rock than the surroundings and so now protruded above the floor of the volcano which had gradually worn away. Not being a geologist, I did not understand the process in detail but the harder cones and pipes have been eroded by the winds over time into incredible blocks of fractured stone, absolutely huge. One is very thin at the base where the rock is less tough than above. Presumably it will eventually be top-heavy but perhaps the top is of light stone, which is why it has survived - nature's polystyrene. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKXfiynn--KARiITk9CfzUKvVeTiRW0r2TgF48YE8xtHGsyZct9RE1eSUKsuQ9iRzREL0V3MMakjNZ7va-E7snaMSowKEl_Lh401uItqjGvnJmsRKIZVmvpmL6o8LyhUALqeHWIsahmQtc6XsI8Nn8taX6YqxNeSiyXy7c2zOJnWqjhJeCA/s1280/770-11-Canadas-Roques.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKXfiynn--KARiITk9CfzUKvVeTiRW0r2TgF48YE8xtHGsyZct9RE1eSUKsuQ9iRzREL0V3MMakjNZ7va-E7snaMSowKEl_Lh401uItqjGvnJmsRKIZVmvpmL6o8LyhUALqeHWIsahmQtc6XsI8Nn8taX6YqxNeSiyXy7c2zOJnWqjhJeCA/w400-h268/770-11-Canadas-Roques.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Las Cañadas. Roques Cinchado.</i></div><br />The rock I found most fascinating had worn away to reveal in cross-section the length of the chimney, still filled with solidified magma so that you could see exactly how it would have shot out from below the earth's crust. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4uITRkg4kfVySr9dBfUcTkUgH16WLsNaeOZirEO0PIdJUT4BqYk2Keo96RA1Dku5uYl6InCJSZTm06jpYXd2HdaxIKlQAwgQGWbXL0nY-MSGSj0x2pAd1oVktVRdT516ihGPkaQ5hBi8B6kUkHpQEjJyzTyV-hYjxkO7piD14pJJ0mdjlQ/s1280/770-12-Llana-Vilanca.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1280" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4uITRkg4kfVySr9dBfUcTkUgH16WLsNaeOZirEO0PIdJUT4BqYk2Keo96RA1Dku5uYl6InCJSZTm06jpYXd2HdaxIKlQAwgQGWbXL0nY-MSGSj0x2pAd1oVktVRdT516ihGPkaQ5hBi8B6kUkHpQEjJyzTyV-hYjxkO7piD14pJJ0mdjlQ/w400-h269/770-12-Llana-Vilanca.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Los Roques. Llano de Ucanca</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFAdqlfWoBjhomHaXyVdXpL5gf6BFa31iInZfb_I2-zm4r7Z2PcNd842bsHp7T5oOrltZ0Tvif_Ts0ZxFsa5WpZv5UCsWaxC6iDxIZZynmfd8nqczlaQ7-c0eKQbXCwtozOsvwXirD2GU4koPDtcVPuv4bSeGMB3jBm_6LaCHhJVJizhFduQ/s1280/770-13-Roques.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="850" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFAdqlfWoBjhomHaXyVdXpL5gf6BFa31iInZfb_I2-zm4r7Z2PcNd842bsHp7T5oOrltZ0Tvif_Ts0ZxFsa5WpZv5UCsWaxC6iDxIZZynmfd8nqczlaQ7-c0eKQbXCwtozOsvwXirD2GU4koPDtcVPuv4bSeGMB3jBm_6LaCHhJVJizhFduQ/w266-h400/770-13-Roques.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Los Roques de Garcia</i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We followed a walk marked off around the rocks and soon left other visitors behind. It was like being alone on the moon with Teidi's summit looming in the background. No sign of life anywhere. Then suddenly a movement! A lizard shot across the pumice almost at our feet and disappeared into a little clump of grey, dead, withered roots which at some stage, when the snows all melt, must spring into life for a brief while. Closer investigation revealed an entire network of routes through the roots, and before long we became aware that it was extremely active, a whole colony of lizards of different shapes, sizes and markings all active together. What can they live on? A great mystery as no insects were visible up here.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And so we returned the way we had come. We decided, as it was getting late, not to continue across the island to come out near the airport where he had arrived as we would have to drive the route round the coast to Puerto de la Cruz in the dark. There were more than thirty kilometers of steep descent, twisting our way down through scrub, then woodland, then nature's giant rockery of beautiful flowers until we hit the wall of fog again and felt our way with headlights glued to the tail lights of the driver in front. Then we were out in the grey streets beneath the grey skies in the modern port of Orotava. Soon we were back in Puerto and parked by the seafront to the west of the town at around 7.30 p.m. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All along the front are very lovely gardens laid out by a landscape architect from Lanzarote called Manriques who is honoured here as a visionary. Not without cause; the seafront walk is so beautiful with paths passing among palms and gigantic plants of all sorts. Dragon trees, flowering or fruiting trees unknown to us with bright pink, orange or purple flowers. Geraniums and petunias fill the flower beds. Local families with children enjoyed the evening and played in the children's park. We watched a couple of lads aged about eleven jumping on trampolines attached to a harness of elastic, so combining trampolining with bungee jumping, shooting high into the air. It looked wonderful fun!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The beach is of black pumice, ground fine and looks rather peculiar when we are used to the golden sands of Exmouth. The sea though is something else; Newquay eat your heart out! I've never seen such enormous breakers come rolling in from the horizon, gathering strength and size as they approach to eventually hurl themselves in a steaming, foaming mass on the seashore. Looking up at a particularly large one approaching, black and glassy with a plume of white just beginning to show on its crest, it was easy to imagine how terrifying the force of a tsunami might be. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We continued home, parking on the disused site by the circus again. Wandering through the old fishermen's quarter, we found a lovely little restaurant where we ate outside in the still night air around 9 p.m. We were served my longed-for seafood paella which was slightly salt but an excellent experience, eaten at a little table with an oil lamp, accompanied by tapas and beer. All I need now is some sangria and I'll know that I've been on a package deal to a typical holiday resort for UK travellers.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Monday 22 April 2002</b> (written on Tuesday)</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I was too weary and woozy to write up this diary last night. It was midnight before we fell exhausted into bed. Some folk may come on holiday for a rest, but we certainly don't! A change, certainly, which in it's way is good, but we tear around exploring and thrive on it all. We slept soundly through the noise of rubbish collection and motorbikes and woke at 8.30 feeling wonderfully refreshed and with the rubbish bins emptied. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Monday was hot and sticky, temperatures well up into the twenties. We decided to make our way along the minor roads to La Laguna, reputed to be well worth a visit. The motorway would have got us there more quickly but we wanted to see the little towns and villages bypassed by most tourists. Just finding our way out of Puerto de la Cruz on the one-way traffic system proved to be a daunting challenge. However, we eventually found our way out towards Santa Ursula, passing by the Mirador de Humboldt. The famous German scientist and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt visited Tenerife in 1799 on his way to South America and was bowled over by its landscape and plant life, and wrote effusively of his visit to the top of Teidi - without the convenience of motor cars and funiculars.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One thing we were impressed by is the quality of housing for the local population, rather than just for the tourists. Buildings are large, clean, spacious, well maintained and superbly finished. They are also constructed and painted to blend with neighbouring properties, frequently using the same colour for doors and shutters. The colour-washed walls add variety and are pleasing to the eye, and the red tiled roofs are most attractive. But most buildings are recent and the overall effect is a shame when viewing a huge vista of a hillside to see it smothered in continuous property development, however attractive and well-finished each individual habitation might be. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The north African palm tree is ubiquitous throughout the island. Large and magnificent, it is superb to look at and its jagged fronds against the walls and roofs of the buildings are so very attractive and impressive. They have large clusters of exciting looking fruits dangling at the top of their long straight grey trunks. We have since become very aware of dragon trees, which we now see everywhere in the little towns we pass through and even growing wild, clinging tenaciously to the cliff side near the sea. Perhaps they are a maritime plant. They are said to be related to the yucca and don't have growth rings as do normal trees. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At La Matanza we got chanelled onto the motorway. Despite the map indicating a route, there was no alternative, and we were forced on for a few miles before turning off and fighting our way through the endless one-way grid system of La Laguna. Eventually we gave up and went with the flow until we could exit the main town on what fortuitously turned out to be the side we wanted. Parking in a side street we then had a very pleasant interesting walk back through the residential area to the old part of the town. We arrived at the most beautiful square Plaza del Adelantada with a fountain and surrounded on all four sides by beautiful houses of enormous size, all different styles and periods but all well maintained, all colour rendered, and all using different coloured volcanic stones to superb effect. for lintels, architraves and cornerstones. The range of colours is truly amazing.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our visit around the town was marred somewhat by the heat and our thirst, and the fact that everything, including the Cathedral shuts at 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. just when we wanted to visit. First we explored the market, which was just closing but still full of an enormous range of vegetables, including all sorts of gourds and pumpkins. There was a flower market and stalls for meat, cheese, and of course fish. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We walked up to the main part of the town and the cathedral. Strangely, the town has developed in one direction only from the historic main square. There is certainly a good range of beautifully restored and maintained historic buildings in this old university town of some 127,000 people, the largest town in Tenerife after Santa Cruz. We eventually found a bar near the cathedral to satisfy a number of our most urgent requirements, and sat crowded in among local people eating tapas - actually they were egg and bacon burgers, but described as tapas, which I suppose is really another term for snack - together with glasses of fresh orange juice and crushed ice. Unfortunately after that everywhere was closed and the streets too hot and glaring for much walking. So, we saw the main buildings from the outside only, but went to look inside the casino, which was open. We decided that casino means something different in Spain - no sign of gambling at all. It is again a beautiful baroque building in lime and white. Inside it is a gentlemen's club with cool, shady rooms, a library and dining room, comfortable lounges and the usual pin-ups of Miss Laguna through the years.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Nearly back at the car we went into a little bar buzzing with locals watching television. We felt very proud when we asked in impeccable Spanish for a couple of bottles of fizzy chilled water and were served without even a raised eyebrow. [...] We do appreciate how several shopkeepers and waiters have taken the trouble to correct our grammar for us. That way we remember Spanish more easily.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We visited the shady Santuario del Christo with a beautiful extravagant altar in silver, offset with dozens of flower arrangements in yellow and white, a huge silver Christ hanging in the middle. It was very ornate and beautiful and obviously gave solace to local people, several of whom were praying aloud but individually, while some sat sobbing as they gazed at the altar. The usual dressed and bewigged statues were to be found here with the life-size Madonna in silks and brocades.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We collected the car and drove up into the hills where it was not much cooler but we had a superb drive up a twisting road through a leafy woodland of laurels. We stopped at several miradors providing spectacular views down onto the town of La Laguna and over toward Tahodio on the south coast. Higher up we stopped at Cruz del Carmen and finally the Pico del Ingles with quite breathtaking views across the jagged spine of the Anaga Mountains and down to the sea on both the north and south coasts. This was only around 1,000 meters high, but a very different landscape from Teidi, truly beautiful and in its way just as dramatic. Everywhere is covered in green vegetation but still obviously volcanic, with cones and chimneys showing above the covering of shrubs and trees. The folds and ridges of the lava flows are very obvious, even when hidden beneath the greenery. It is the rugged spine of the Anaga that is so astonishing however. It looks as it the ground has been ripped up and stood on its side. This north-west corner is far less frequented than other parts of the island. It is really beautiful but, being less accessible and leading nowhere, has been largely ignored by tourists. For the first time on the overcrowded island we were able to drive for considerable distances without encountering other traffic. We stopped and walked down through shady laurels to attempt to take some photographs of the strange rocks of the Anaga. The peace was so strange and lovely; just the endless sound of birdsong, sunshine, shady trees, amazing views with the sea beyond, and repeated miniature cascades of falling stones as the thousands of lizards sunning themselves shot off at our approach, darting effortlessly across the vertical rocks in search of crevices in which to hide.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52JQeOsKyfj6AvpmVwBOh4THELPBa5Se3OlDaPnBQvsN9-s9CgX2dvimAgj1B-cQL8QbRRPblh5hDrlCU71NWfI3C7Pcz7MDVM3dhWwTmnbZmi0XceG864aRT_onX7jrIiomLliKKlUUejKxudszv3N6eHG0PhVFSyperKCUkTzX-WLw7Gg/s1280/770-14.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52JQeOsKyfj6AvpmVwBOh4THELPBa5Se3OlDaPnBQvsN9-s9CgX2dvimAgj1B-cQL8QbRRPblh5hDrlCU71NWfI3C7Pcz7MDVM3dhWwTmnbZmi0XceG864aRT_onX7jrIiomLliKKlUUejKxudszv3N6eHG0PhVFSyperKCUkTzX-WLw7Gg/w400-h259/770-14.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpQfxx3HWR3XkPEzp1QYggQWUG_17OHmGu6TXlmpN-SpFoEI24hDdhNXXvnecq-8JsVAt80pIEJm3CUoPdgoTxdhmxG8hHV-67ZmpVS12sUybEwCSQoVZWghHbWMMtMVmRFG601tOCylGqPSvQNxo90KL0FwnwWQT6DQry3DCvHgOCMEdng/s1280/770-15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpQfxx3HWR3XkPEzp1QYggQWUG_17OHmGu6TXlmpN-SpFoEI24hDdhNXXvnecq-8JsVAt80pIEJm3CUoPdgoTxdhmxG8hHV-67ZmpVS12sUybEwCSQoVZWghHbWMMtMVmRFG601tOCylGqPSvQNxo90KL0FwnwWQT6DQry3DCvHgOCMEdng/w400-h265/770-15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_t1a43SzURfBn8MYZDsAOB42fdQ7JklUaD_IwLW6MpULz1lBP6kbGf_g1wwqpapPheXzozCSKdj3Ku1hmP7LvY2QWxvTkJx3jkTIBVZ1d94Mr1y0oiHVjN2ALx2JprOI3WmFKYE1Kcq_MGsI2K2F8kSWYsoaOPcwDvHO4cmLqO6R7X8YFw/s1280/770-16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1280" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_t1a43SzURfBn8MYZDsAOB42fdQ7JklUaD_IwLW6MpULz1lBP6kbGf_g1wwqpapPheXzozCSKdj3Ku1hmP7LvY2QWxvTkJx3jkTIBVZ1d94Mr1y0oiHVjN2ALx2JprOI3WmFKYE1Kcq_MGsI2K2F8kSWYsoaOPcwDvHO4cmLqO6R7X8YFw/w400-h261/770-16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QTrdEHrkHJwOYt4m1Q5UtsNTTAjqMm51x557Uv1kYz6qtR1KRruFAbZ5vLWWm-PbgnYaRT0duylijlBZugTvx-e-vwVdNwiSUO8RNpOgRCryYlR7Ffz-Ai5Gy0aib4-fU3vtd7LR5oCaVWctD1xndVpUTAZ0tlzN1799ASxlVd60_2WLMw/s1280/770-17.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1280" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QTrdEHrkHJwOYt4m1Q5UtsNTTAjqMm51x557Uv1kYz6qtR1KRruFAbZ5vLWWm-PbgnYaRT0duylijlBZugTvx-e-vwVdNwiSUO8RNpOgRCryYlR7Ffz-Ai5Gy0aib4-fU3vtd7LR5oCaVWctD1xndVpUTAZ0tlzN1799ASxlVd60_2WLMw/w400-h261/770-17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>In the Anaga Mountains</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Having come so far, we decided to visit Taganana, almost at the furthest tip of the road. The quality of the roads in the mountains is excellent, well tarmacked and clearly marked, with safety barriers on the bends, regular passing places and the routes designed to give a fairly even gradient, speeding being limited only by the twists around the rocks with huge drops below if you miss the road. We saw several cars that had come off the road just abandoned to eventually decompose. The route along the spine of the Anaga mountains is a real credit to the highway engineers of Tenerife. It runs almost level until the breathtaking descent down to Taganana. We stopped at one point and clambered up the rock face to the top, where we had dizzy bird's eye views down onto the coast at either side, sitting on the actual ridge which here was just a few feet wide. We descended the contorted, twisting road between the spines of the mountains, the sea showing sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other as we steered our way through the rocks. There was no other traffic around and we parked beside the road into the village, which became no more than a cobbled track threading its way between houses built close together on a hillside with a 45 degrees slope. Local men tended their vines on terraces below their homes or watered the tubs by their doors, chatting to each other, looking at us with curiosity but responding cheerfully to our "hola". Most seemed to have their own little water reservoir, though a channel flowed through the street to the houses below, all of which seemed to have been abandoned now, despite having one of the most magnificent views to be found on earth. Still, you can't live on a view, I guess!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The village is divided by a valley or barranco, a rift between the lava flows, providing shelter for the cultivation of vines and vegetables. It is also the natural home for all kinds of wild flowers and cactuses, dragon trees and palms. From an outsider's point of view, a vision of Utopia for peace and beauty.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I had no wish to be caught in the mountains in the dark and as it was now 7.30 we headed back for home through the near deserted mountains. Again we were forced onto the motorway but reached Puerto de la Cruz about an hour later. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On parking we discovered that the casing around the headlamp of the car had been broken and part is missing. It is astonishing to see that it is no more than painted polystyrene. How it happened I have no idea. It is a bit worrying, but as nothing has hit it or been dropped on it, it remains a mystery. I hope it doesn't cause trouble in getting back our deposit on Thursday.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We returned to the same pleasant restaurant as last night and ate out on the warm street with an oil lamp on the table and live guitar music coming from the open door of the restaurant. We had tuna in piquant Canary sauce with Canary potatoes and a very large carafe of Canary wine, which was gently mellow. Our waiter told us in Spanish that red Canary wine by lamplight is very romantic. Everyone seems very friendly and it is good that we are able to understand the little that we do, but so very frustrating not to be able to communicate freely. However, after all that wine we fell fast asleep as soon as we got to our room, which is why I am writing up this account the following day.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> ...</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-35280376554074061942022-09-19T16:29:00.005+01:002022-09-19T18:06:47.194+01:00Corsica 1999. 4: Corte to Bastia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Corsica : a tour in May 1999</span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-1-bastia-to-porto.html">Bastia to Porto</a>.<br />2. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-2-porto-to-zonza.html">Porto to Zonza</a>.<br />3. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-3-zonza-to-corte.html">Zonza to Corte</a>.<br />4. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-4-corte-to-bastia.html">Corte to Bastia</a>.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Part 4. Corte to Bastia</span></b></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>Friday 28 May 1999</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We are now sitting on a bench in the shade at the parking place in Corte. We have been stuck here for the past four hours because we didn't realise when we parked last night that the car park had to be emptied between 6 am and 1 pm on Fridays as the weekly market is held here. Apart from discovering a mussel seller parked directly blocking our exit, we also found a fine stuck to our windscreen for causing an inconvenience. The mussel seller has stoically refused to let us move his stand temporarily and replace it for him, so we have no alternative but to change our plans for the day and wait. It is cool and interesting to sit here watching the general bustle, but the market is pretty poor by French standards. We have bought a pound of cherries from a dear little man who looks as if he has simply filled some boxes with fruit from his garden and trundled down from one of the mountain villages with some rusty, inaccurate old scales. I'm sure he has given us nearer a kilo than 500 grams. We have also bought some of the popular deep-fried, batter-wrapped cheese, some plain, others rolled in sugar. Both are delicious, very hot, and bad for you. The lady gave us an extra one for free. People are generally very nice; even the mussel seller joked with us, saying we could buy some of his mussels to eat until he was ready to go. However, we are not great amateurs of eating raw mussels in car parks. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The lady at the hotel this morning was charming. When we paid the bill, it was 510 francs but she refused the ten francs and wished us a really nice final couple of days in Corsica. Then, when we realised that we were stuck here for several hours, we went for a coffee. The lady there saw us puzzling over the French fine, and was shocked that they had imposed a fine on visitors. Still, as we are driving a local car, I suppose the authorities expected us to know. Anyway the police station is miles away and without our car we cannot get to it, so we have decided to ignore the 75 franc fine and write to appeal once we are back in England. I think this be an excellent example of how we did not understand the language so didn't realise what we were supposed to do. We certainly didn't realise about the car park, but after a little searching today we did see a small warning notice at the entrance.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>Later Friday 28 May, Hotel du Centre, Saint Florent.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>About fifty minutes after the time the stallholder agreed to let us out, he finally dismantled his stall. He was one of the very last to go and I doubt he sold any mussels all morning anyway. Still, about 1 pm we finally left Corte about four hours later than intended, and we have still got the bother of the fine to sort out once we have reached home. One of the only areas we have not yet explored was Castagniccia, the high chestnut forests that lie between </span><span>Corte</span><span> and the east coast. We took really minor roads, mainly single-track with poorly maintained road surfaces. At first it was very pleasant with green hillsides and shrubs. This got steadily more sparse as we got higher until the landscape became dry and arid without trees or birds, with no shade from the hot sun and no water anywhere. The ascent was steep and tortuous, the landscape very inhospitable with no sign of life, not even other vehicles on the roads. Our route took us up from </span><span>Corte</span><span> through Sermano village. There were wonderful views but the village was run down and neglected with abandoned houses, slates lying broken at the base of buildings, everything dusty and crumbling with a few chickens under some fruit trees and very little else. We continued through several mountain hamlets in similar states of disrepair and neglect, some perched inaccessibly on hilltops, very picturesque but virtually deserted. We started to descend, and the road became worse than an average unmetalled track because broken bits of tarmac and road chippings had been washed around by winter weather leaving potholes everywhere. Rounding bends among chestnut trees, we came upon several troops of pigs lying in the dust by the roadside, trying to escape some of the stifling heat of the day. It was today that we really discovered the joys or air conditioning in a car. On the open hillside, invariably on narrow unfenced bends, we met several solitary cattle, or a cow and calf, or occasionally half a dozen cows accompanied by a bull. All seemed placid enough, but they wandered freely on the hillside. Heavens knows what they found to eat. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">As we got lower, the vegetation increased again, and the chestnut trees and maquis were replaced by mixed woodland and little fields. Beside a river we saw a goatherd peacefully enjoying the afternoon as he watched his flock of some thirty goats while a gentle clanging of goat bells was the only sound - there were still no birds. I have been really surprised how few there are, and they are only around human habitation, or in the woodland near streams. There are many yellow wagtails, but hardly any seagulls to be seen, even in the little coastal ports. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>We eventually reached the main road which we followed up to Ponte Leccia, the railway line from </span><span>Corte</span><span> running beside it. There is nothing at Ponte Leccia, but it is the Clapham Junction of Corsica, being the place where all the trains pass when going from Ajaccio to Bastia or Calvi. We went over a level crossing and were amused to see the warning sign "Un train peut en cacher un autre". It can be the only one in Corsica as the railway system is entirely single-track with passing places, one of which is at Ponte Leccia. We speculated whether, with the timetable as it is, there ever actually could be an occasion when one train could ever actually hide another on this particular level crossing - we don't think it can. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>We followed the Calvi road and turned off to the right on the D 105 which rose very steeply up the hillside twisting round and round on itself, so we could look down from above and observe all the route we had made. Up here the landscape was almost frighteningly beautiful, covered in maquis and pink roses. Far below on the valley floor we could see back down the valley with far down the valley with the road and railway to Bastia running down</span><span style="text-align: left;"> the middle following the river. We stopped, hoping to picnic with such an eagle's view over the countryside, but despite it being after 3 pm it was suffocatingly hot out of the car, and shadows were virtually non-existent. Further on we found some abandoned terraces with broken dry-stone walling. Inside were some ancient olive trees. We squeezed the car off the narrow road and climbed up to the ancient terrace where we had a lovely late lunch under the cool trees with a beautiful view down the route we had just climbed and upward to where the road, a scratch on the mountainside, finally disappeared from view behind a high crag. The only sound as a distant bleating of a goat and the occasional sound of gunfire, presumably from hunters. </span></span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The road became frighteningly narrow but fortunately we met nothing at all on the road except for the odd cow and a few goats. We reached the lovely village of Costa Roda, perched on the most inaccessible place imaginable with wonderful views from near the church. As we looked, we were approached by a resident who wanted to know if we liked his village and was inclined to chat. He was delightful and told us there were no young people left in his village now. There was no work in the mountains. He was retired by had worked in Marseille, coming here for holidays, but now he was here permanently. Another elderly man joined us, and shook hands as if we were real friends. Ian commented on the abandoned terraces, and they said they could remember them being worked and they were quite productive, but had fallen into disuse since the War, when there was nobody left to work them. Our first friend asked where in England we came from and said that it must be very different from here; his daughter had been to London once and said that it wasn't like Corsica at all! We asked whether many tourists got to such remote villages as this. Oh yes, said the other man, sometimes they got up to five cars an hour going through.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The first man said that he knew his village was beautiful, but beauty wasn't everything. You couldn't live on beauty and, apart from two herds of goats that employed one shepherd, there was absolutely nothing in the way of work up here. All they had was mountains formed from Corsican stone and, unless the world started crying out for their stone. they had nothing to produce. The soil is barren, he said, crops don't survive, not even vegetables. There are no longer snows up here, and most years between April and November there was no rain at all. At the moment the field above which we were standing was a meadow of beautiful flowers, but by July it would be baked solid, no grass, just like concrete.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">When Ian asked what they thought about Corsican independence and the Corsican nationalists, they raised their hands in despair. How could Corsica survive if it were independent? There was nobody to work the land, it was non-productive. What young people there are, are all in Bastia and Ajaccio to work. The nationalists didn't have the support of the Corsican people generally, and the ten per cent who did support them all lived on the coast in the towns where poverty wasn't as bad and there was some employment. The mountain people had always been ignored right through history, they claimed. The Genoese had only been interested in the fertile, accessible areas around the coast, the mountains were barren and ignored, along with the people who lived there. It was no different today. France talked abut the "Ile de beauté" but again its interest was in the coastal regions. Tourism was the main industry, but what did it do for the mountain villages? He also said that the nationalists want to make Corse the official language rather than French. That's not going to help the only profitable industry the island has, tourism, if instead of French everyone speaks an obscure dialect of Italian! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">All in all, it was a really interesting half-hour chat we had with two delightful, friendly gentlemen who seemed to speak a lot of common sense. They shook hands with us as we left and then, as I got into the driver's seat of the car, our first friend hurried after to ask whether I was scared driving a left-hand drive car on a different side of the road. He said that he couldn't imagine driving a right-hand drive car at all - it would terrify him. As we left the village, we noticed three or four donkeys sheltering from the heat under an olive tree.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">At Lento we stopped to look in at the church as the door was open. Several ladies inside beckoned us in as we hesitated by the door. They smiled and told us to feel free to look around. They seemed to have used the church as a cool place for a general chat, but every now and then they joined together for a prayer before resuming the chatting. I suppose it was a sort of Mothers' Union. Again, every name on the war memorial outside the church was Italian. It also mentioned several World War 2 resistance fighters from the village shot by the Germans in 1944.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Then up over the Col de Bigorno (885 meters) an<span>d down into more fertile land on the other side, at first with only a few trees and the only livestock goats and cattle. Lizards shot across the hot road surface head of me and at one point I had to stop and wait while a long snake slithered across and disappeared into the maquis. It is the only one I have seen and was probably not venomous. Corsica only has two species of snake, the grass snake and the western whip snake, the latter a type of viper, generally considered non-venomous. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">And then, suddenly, we were at the chapel of San-Michele, the beautifully chequered church set on the hilltop where we saw the wild tortoise on 18 May. For only the third time on the tour of the island we returned to a point we had previously touched on. This is partly design; as we near the end of our holiday we want to be near Bastia for the flight home on Sunday. We also like this area very much. The sea certainly has much to offer in Corsica, and it seems so bright and inviting looking down on it from high in the austere, sparse mountains. We could look across the hills down onto the sea and along the coast of the Cap toward Nonza.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTY7jLpcP8tnzWBCNeitSjBvWJyZzDY8v8BrL4f8HmjEOxhh2rO5XVL_vdwPB83JIUJGig4a0AUkEdoRKOT9BexLAaeMEgB2F-wAB68MhSjCFNgsZiXVUXOi8lTssDhfM5HhsOqqO0ndKOm7OF1roOrptobZO9ZcgC71LfgDV3SUjG9tXGWw/s1280/570-07.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1280" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTY7jLpcP8tnzWBCNeitSjBvWJyZzDY8v8BrL4f8HmjEOxhh2rO5XVL_vdwPB83JIUJGig4a0AUkEdoRKOT9BexLAaeMEgB2F-wAB68MhSjCFNgsZiXVUXOi8lTssDhfM5HhsOqqO0ndKOm7OF1roOrptobZO9ZcgC71LfgDV3SUjG9tXGWw/w400-h270/570-07.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><i>In the Castagniccia</i></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0xW4TfZqqwH_hDG9ClPS2DgZsyNDzWWsxD8Ee1hD339_4zsmRwsTvIVKMzo1rE-4JWpmOIFfKmEdNygsGdqhZY9Y8RFzOi-XwJ7bHaykDJYu9GbD8UYcV_AvW43QQi0TKI6Qx9d97uqOhA7P4QsEo4VAdpg_jfsSO-_4nft71XsRAiub_WQ/s1280/570-08.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="1280" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0xW4TfZqqwH_hDG9ClPS2DgZsyNDzWWsxD8Ee1hD339_4zsmRwsTvIVKMzo1rE-4JWpmOIFfKmEdNygsGdqhZY9Y8RFzOi-XwJ7bHaykDJYu9GbD8UYcV_AvW43QQi0TKI6Qx9d97uqOhA7P4QsEo4VAdpg_jfsSO-_4nft71XsRAiub_WQ/w400-h285/570-08.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioWoB1dU2JQ_3dTHy3CjmqTvQVcbijfm34Fihflrva-SQNNSrjqjWXi7-FOhRSdTjdSYjR2hjB1uTqkOuhPkjk4BLl7EHAHWyVk2NvGiblOxswWoiqg1eRaQYF40EmpxGoBVAfxGNGaG_1YEOrMiLqOOJ6LQfp5cfjEKNyClmkLJePhin5Tg/s1280/570-09.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioWoB1dU2JQ_3dTHy3CjmqTvQVcbijfm34Fihflrva-SQNNSrjqjWXi7-FOhRSdTjdSYjR2hjB1uTqkOuhPkjk4BLl7EHAHWyVk2NvGiblOxswWoiqg1eRaQYF40EmpxGoBVAfxGNGaG_1YEOrMiLqOOJ6LQfp5cfjEKNyClmkLJePhin5Tg/w400-h268/570-09.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We decided to descend into St Florent where we are now staying. This hotel seemed nicer than the one we stayed in last time. It is 230 Francs per night and we have a very pleasant room but, in common with all hotels in French towns. It is very noisy with cars and motorbikes passing below and the sounds of restaurants clearing up after the last customers depart.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We ate our supper down on the Port de Plaisance again, watching the sunset and accompanied by a little grey cat. I gave him some sausage but it was spurned. Later a man came along to feed it. He said that it had been abandoned, so he fed it by the port each night. We walked around the town, up into the deserted little citadel by moonlight, overgrown with dry grasses and poppies where the sound of the sea made gentle slapping noises on the rocks and the walls were still warm from the heat of the day. Returning down to the port again, we could peer into the clear still water and see thousands of little fish just below the surface, with bigger ones below and bigger one still below them. There were many different species and the water seemed to teem with them. Then back to our hotel for a shower and sleep.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Saturday 29 May, 1999</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our last full day! This morning the sun was already hot by the time we left our hotel. There was also a strong wind which later blew up into a sort of tornado. It was hot but very violent, seeming to come from all directions at once. We began the day with a leisurely stroll around St Florent, the town we have most liked in Corsica. There is not a great deal there, but it has a pleasant, relaxed and happy atmosphere. The Port de Plaisance is really very large, and we discovered a lovely sandy beach on the far side where I paddled in the clear cold water and we gathered several light brown balls of a sort of coconut matting or sisal material. We can't work out what they are or where they come from, perhaps a seed pod from a palm, but there are hundreds on the west coach beaches, and when they are taken apart they appear to have nothing inside except more fibres. (We have since learned that they are formed from fibres of the seagrass<span> </span></span><span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">posidonia oceanica, commonly known as </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Neptune grass and these "Neptune balls" trap large quantities of microplastics.)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">We also did a little souvenir type shopping, a pretty blue dress for Kate, <i>Asterix en Corse</i> for Neil, essential oils from the maquis for work friends, and a couple of cards, including a French birth congratulation card for a friend. Finally we left St Florent reluctantly behind and headed toward Bastia, stopping at Patrimonio to look at the well preserved menhir, an isolated standing stone, and the very imposing church set on a high promontory in the village, giving excellent views from its steps over the surrounding vineyards, upon which the economy of the village is based, and the arid hills beyond, the sea just visible between them. </span></span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQWcDCTMUq52-2DwCy-L4-aKyvy-Onw1ge5lhdX1fi0TTy4_4b50pkWp9W8EyhrTPMT1cZd3664b2KiTfYqHTfgzTx8nppzIslUfsQPPxgQKhzpdG_u70M9S01TDZCEKCBzRKD0nheVM5hsMWw_tyxgqfDv2ffRWL9jkuGSJObsLSKo6ejg/s1280/570-10-Patrimonio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="855" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQWcDCTMUq52-2DwCy-L4-aKyvy-Onw1ge5lhdX1fi0TTy4_4b50pkWp9W8EyhrTPMT1cZd3664b2KiTfYqHTfgzTx8nppzIslUfsQPPxgQKhzpdG_u70M9S01TDZCEKCBzRKD0nheVM5hsMWw_tyxgqfDv2ffRWL9jkuGSJObsLSKo6ejg/w268-h400/570-10-Patrimonio.jpg" width="268" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Patrimonio</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1280" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPp9xyJZdcLK822Icf75oYUZoPq-BZohlnUSPwi4qDimDgycVMmmMu1pQLzpRzifqu7yRDz3K6B8A0J9OqJ7W4_cbY53xkY1-FMy9KsQgKXsVUFoLWc29ACOzosOALQtOK1HZCZb74GTSFa--0cM8fEYd73bSqVV_HfyQ-XDn4stuYuUTqg/w400-h269/570-11-Patrimonio.jpg" width="400" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Patrimonio, with view toward Golfe de St Florent</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">The church was locked and dust storms were being blown up all around us, so we headed up into the hills, the air-conditioning in the car going all out as it was a suffocating hot wind roaring and tossing outside, blowing the clouds up from one side of the mountains, causing them to roll and tumble over the top and down the far side like a vapour of dry ice. We kept having to stop to admire the wonderful views but if we got out of the car we had to hang on tight to each other for fear of being blown over.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">We drove gingerly over the Col de Teghine, leaving the west coast behind and came down toward Bastia, where the wind disappeared and it was just very very hot, the sunshine being quite unremitting. The views down onto Bastia and the flat eastern seaboard were different from anything we had seen so far. The town is very sprawling and from the hills we had an eagle's view of the whole town, the port, the sea, and the long, curious lagoon of Biguglia with the sandspit between it and the sea. We could also see the airstrip of Bastia airport.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdlj6OC7x1zEasd0oHPXR1RqCnya6dEiYA_stZdG0i2msWXDLEtyIV2_vU7-gNM7TOY2P9NAtjssFJiVE1zrbWXgyTGiiv26GH1RblbpNBxqiefIkTkFvWDAfuKD64sCFO8Qdj7Zy0xvlGmAT_Ox4p7Y4muNncp16kGkFYZTwBNiqzITzrQ/s1280/570-12-Teghime-Col.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdlj6OC7x1zEasd0oHPXR1RqCnya6dEiYA_stZdG0i2msWXDLEtyIV2_vU7-gNM7TOY2P9NAtjssFJiVE1zrbWXgyTGiiv26GH1RblbpNBxqiefIkTkFvWDAfuKD64sCFO8Qdj7Zy0xvlGmAT_Ox4p7Y4muNncp16kGkFYZTwBNiqzITzrQ/w400-h264/570-12-Teghime-Col.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Col de Teghine (536 meters), view of Golfe de St Florent</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ib7nJWGlLqFmR6E1Q8QvEKY5hCevToZUNkkeUOfdkDyRLkZE9ArnCfEqml2NXZALICLxEJnihKI9HbzPXAqW_CcmTuTP6WDOQ0X6iszt7tA5fFOQlOc5i07J7HoyCdZaVPho0DzYmfJzdOkdryfyI1yiy3ZPgQCQcd4p77SrMPGg01wdPg/s1280/570-13-Teghime-Col.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ib7nJWGlLqFmR6E1Q8QvEKY5hCevToZUNkkeUOfdkDyRLkZE9ArnCfEqml2NXZALICLxEJnihKI9HbzPXAqW_CcmTuTP6WDOQ0X6iszt7tA5fFOQlOc5i07J7HoyCdZaVPho0DzYmfJzdOkdryfyI1yiy3ZPgQCQcd4p77SrMPGg01wdPg/w400-h259/570-13-Teghime-Col.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Col de Teghine, view of Etang de Biguglia</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; text-align: justify;">We drove down to Bastia and parked near the Palais de Justice to walk into the town. With hindsight, it was not a wise move to spend such a hot day in a busy city, full of car fumes and traffic chaos. The Corsicans seem incredibly bad drivers and think nothing of triple parking in the main thoroughfares so it is like weaving an obstacle race to get anywhere in the town. The streets off the main road are dirty and neglected, full of fallen masonry, cigarette butts and canine excrement, with stray cats wandering everywhere and washing hanging from street windows. Below in the street, amid the general street chaos, tables are set for meals or people sit drinking and talking on their mobile phones at any possible point that a table can be fitted in, and the cars simply drive round them. Eventually it became unbearable, wandering aimlessly around in the stifling heat. We had tended to move from church to church, of which there are fortunately many, and they are all open and beautifully dark and cool after the searing heat and dazzling light outside. We visited the Église Ste Marie in the citadel with the silver statue of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin which is carried around the streets on certain occasions. Then round the corner to the Chapelle Sainte Croix, decorated in rococo style with much gilt work. It has a statue of Christ on the cross carved in dark wood, found floating in the sea by fishermen in 1428 and brought to the church, where it is still venerated by fishermen today. Next to the chapel of the Immaculate Conception where from 1794 </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; text-align: justify;">the sessions of the Anglo-Corse parliament were held in the presence of the British viceroy. This continued until 1795 when Britain gave up ownership of Corsica because it was too expensive and handed it back to the French. It seems very strange to think that they played "God save the King" on the organ before each session!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Unable to bear Bastia any longer, we returned to the car and drove northwards along the route of Cap Corse until we reached Erbalunga. The only hotel was full, so we sat by the sea under a tamarisk tree eating home-made chocolate ice-cream before returning to Bastia and driving down through a tunnel under the bay to avoid the chaos in the streets of the town centre, so I've now driven through "le tunnel sous la Méd". </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We continued out along the sandspit between the sea and the Biguglia lagoon. Despite its off-putting name, it proved to be a very pleasant area, very different from the rest of the island. It is a nature reserve for birds and plants on the the lagoon side; the seaward side was a sandy beach, packed with families from Bastia taking a day out to swim and sunbathe. There was a massive queue of people returning to Bastia as by this time its was about 6 pm. We tried several hotels along the sandspit. It would have been very nice to stay there for our last night amid the sand dunes with pine trees and tamarisks but everywhere was either full or too expensive. Eventually we left the sandspit and turned back toward Bastia again, desperate to find a hotel for our last night. We are now in a rather grotty place which at 260 francs is both the most expensive and least agreeable room we have had. However, even this hotel was full and, seeing us looking a bit Joseph and Mary-ish, the hotel lady said she did have a spare room in the stable. I don't think I'm likely to give birth tonight - just as well as there is certainly no manger handy! She said she had lots of Germans staying but did have one twin-bedded room in an annexe, if we wanted it. We weren't going to carry on searching, so here we are. It seems reasonably quiet but has a view over the back of the hotel with stray cats and dumped rubbish. No doubt, as it is right by the airport, we will be woken in the early hours by planes arriving and leaving. I only hope that we can get the car sorted out with petrol, as it has only just occurred to us that tomorrow is Sunday and garages are usually closed. It is essential that we return the car with a full tank.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>Sunday 30 May, 1999.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">We leave Corsica at 3.30 this afternoon. We have just had breakfast downstairs in the hotel as we have used up all our own food supplies. The patronne, a very friendly lady, has told us it will be 28 degrees here today - yesterday it was hotter. She said it will not be like that in England, a maximum of 18, if we are lucky: "Oh là </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">là, quel pays, toujours il pleut, il y a du brouillard" - rather a sweeping generalisation, but that is how we are perceived here: "Ce n'est pas comme ici </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">là-bas". We passed the time of day with a Welsh couple returning this morning to Manchester. La patronne said "encore des anglais", so we said that they were Welsh. "Ah, la princesse Diana! Ah, elle était belle, la Diana! Et le rugby, ils sont champions du rugby". That is the perception of Wales. A delightful and amusing breakfast.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">As we left the hotel this morning, we thanked the patronne for finding us a bed for the night when she was officially fully booked. We suspect that she kept a couple of rooms undeclared for tax purposes. She certainly kept no record of our stay and didn't really want to give us a receipt, so we said we didn't want one. We shook hands and she said that we should really have reserved rooms in advance near the airport at weekends, but she tried to keep a couple of rooms for independent travellers. The rest of the guests had been a German coach party. She said that if people were nice and she liked them, she would usually find space for them, otherwise hard luck, so I guess we were lucky she liked us.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">We drove to La Canonica, just a couple of kilometers from the hotel, near the sea. There we walked first across a dry dusty field of bleached grass, with pretty flowers along the wayside. It was really pleasant to hear birds singing again; they obviously prefer the lower plains to the mountains. We passed a little orchard of orange and lemon trees, and I confess to stealing a lemon, to have with fish and chips back in Exeter to remind us of Corsica. We crossed the field to the beautiful Romanesque chapel of San Parteo, dating from the eleventh century. It was in excellent repair and very simple in style, with large limestone blocks alternating in rows with smaller blocks. It was rectangular with a rounded apse at the east end, the whole covered with green schist tiles. Its setting against the hills in the open space of the plain was idyllic. Nobody else was around except for a distant tractor several fields away and the ubiquitous lizards. There was a chain on the huge door, but it was not locked, so we pushed it open. Inside, birds had nested in the regular spaces in the stonework - why are they there, inside and out at regular intervals, but not traversing the walls? Once our eyes became accustomed to the darkness contrasting with the external glare, we saw that the chapel was built on the ruins of previous sites. According to our Michelin guide they dated from several centuries earlier when it was a pagan burial ground. There mas much excavation work in progress, and a number of tombs had been revealed well below the later floor level. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">The tombs must have stood on the outskirts of the Roman town of Mariana, on the site of which the cathedral church of la Canonica had been dedicated in the 12th century, just a few hundred meters away from the chapel of San Parteo. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">We returned from the little chapel and walked along the dusty road to the nearby cathedral church of La Canonica. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">The cathedral, although it had three aisles, was modest in size. Like the chapel, it alternated wide and narrow courses of stone and was roofed with green schist slates. It was beautifully proportioned in the simple Romanesque style typical of the period when Corsica was ruled by Pisa. The exterior was almost completely unadorned with some arcading round the semi-circular apse and some geometrical patterns on the south side. On the south side had previously stood two wings of buildings which had housed the canons of the cathedral. These were now demolished except for the foundations, and excavations had shown that the southern of the two wings was built inside a Roman basilica of the fourth century, an impressive building with marble colonnades and a baptistery which survived with fragments of the font and mosaics with Christian themes, probably the earliest evidence of Christianity on the island. The basilica stood amid other Roman buildings prominently aligned along an arcaded street. Strange to think of so many centuries of life and worship in an area that was now nothing but fields. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">A coach party of Italian tourists arrived just after us, so we were less at one with the landscape, but it remained extremely impressive, rendered all the more beautiful by the presence of wild vines, flowering bottle-brush plants, and shady pines and olive trees. The doors of he cathedral were locked unfortunately, although we attempted a photograph through a keyhole, but there was much to see externally, both the beautiful simple building with its Celtic style interlaced pattern over the main entrance, and the Roman town to the side, which I found easier to imagine than the city of Aléria where so much was left overgrown and lost amidst the long grass.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRkLAWgVztlpwzGDo2RHVWRiTRZJjQ0O4s4N-oE9Yl96vYcLY9nv_Ybz0NB1PxZb9l9SsI9qvuG07hbHSXYAECUZ4MEmpQxfxOyaX17iXdh2-RsP71ajss0jFJp68IdwtGEFM0gDyFu4_JJeDTe3wzb5wkFwaNPTAz79W8_Haujx8EUXFJw/s1280/570-15-Canonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1280" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRkLAWgVztlpwzGDo2RHVWRiTRZJjQ0O4s4N-oE9Yl96vYcLY9nv_Ybz0NB1PxZb9l9SsI9qvuG07hbHSXYAECUZ4MEmpQxfxOyaX17iXdh2-RsP71ajss0jFJp68IdwtGEFM0gDyFu4_JJeDTe3wzb5wkFwaNPTAz79W8_Haujx8EUXFJw/w400-h269/570-15-Canonica.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">La Canonica, San Parteo</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BOTVBiyDRAmd7CwZv8dnY4BbY6RRcQDjLd_sjsgCWgvJeNBzmQtrozKjudjELQ3HD0v_34xwpSojBdOo7e_1F70GmB_DEpIUoHMhzbPyOkn9bSYVdpccLxK_nQc-3RIzlhyfsgti8PT_a70Bp_1m54JoxlcGyAymyrNONm1j_VWQEETkVQ/s1280/570-16-Canonica-San-Parteo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="854" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BOTVBiyDRAmd7CwZv8dnY4BbY6RRcQDjLd_sjsgCWgvJeNBzmQtrozKjudjELQ3HD0v_34xwpSojBdOo7e_1F70GmB_DEpIUoHMhzbPyOkn9bSYVdpccLxK_nQc-3RIzlhyfsgti8PT_a70Bp_1m54JoxlcGyAymyrNONm1j_VWQEETkVQ/w268-h400/570-16-Canonica-San-Parteo.jpg" width="268" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">La Canonica, San Parteo</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKC1pJCAYD4kLp1PRTXT01cVKgTHH2XlM56XN9NEeaE9P6EmD7PrWHJgVCD713IsYsze_jhuEHdsDO-JbC9ugA7QLyre7Pk4FTTKdHVUZ0eBJSi3t5kzqmVq7KgX9v0ECI_QKxXTbQ99LpuCXSF8QB_Wq-H-vUWCbU5p61nLv7t1-pK4thtw/s1280/570-17-Canonica-San-Parteo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKC1pJCAYD4kLp1PRTXT01cVKgTHH2XlM56XN9NEeaE9P6EmD7PrWHJgVCD713IsYsze_jhuEHdsDO-JbC9ugA7QLyre7Pk4FTTKdHVUZ0eBJSi3t5kzqmVq7KgX9v0ECI_QKxXTbQ99LpuCXSF8QB_Wq-H-vUWCbU5p61nLv7t1-pK4thtw/w400-h259/570-17-Canonica-San-Parteo.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">La Canonica, chapel of San Parteo</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTRpI0ctthR9qpBRmJkKTBnofKFaVPJzmggDoT8YsblDUfuSSCbPy5tWN0ONGhJ4_8uQB7CqTfYNDdCywJB0PsNY8gv6OdX8A9NV7Pf9s83iygFH1KiMn_u8AKgcpxvpDWh4ESHV7u-NZO07-OAjfBt4e13mNjrgtm0PTzuzetbt4iVvRBA/s1280/570-18-Mariana.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTRpI0ctthR9qpBRmJkKTBnofKFaVPJzmggDoT8YsblDUfuSSCbPy5tWN0ONGhJ4_8uQB7CqTfYNDdCywJB0PsNY8gv6OdX8A9NV7Pf9s83iygFH1KiMn_u8AKgcpxvpDWh4ESHV7u-NZO07-OAjfBt4e13mNjrgtm0PTzuzetbt4iVvRBA/w400-h263/570-18-Mariana.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Mariana</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdKEPE5Npp9o2kYHLQh86hZdatHjUdtI3yZsKFY9GcX_KB0ZutO3DB_-9dG84rlAKOIIaHahgCFdcotKAohG4wufWW9HX_JSG-H8hwERK2JruM8fHFOT9TLq6m_rAEHljBr9fFBlr_4VbpGioi-3VS5j8OosAvVgEYbR6v69clGydXhVyyA/s1280/570-19-Mariana.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdKEPE5Npp9o2kYHLQh86hZdatHjUdtI3yZsKFY9GcX_KB0ZutO3DB_-9dG84rlAKOIIaHahgCFdcotKAohG4wufWW9HX_JSG-H8hwERK2JruM8fHFOT9TLq6m_rAEHljBr9fFBlr_4VbpGioi-3VS5j8OosAvVgEYbR6v69clGydXhVyyA/w400-h266/570-19-Mariana.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Mariana</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9Ys2Padsj1aUIjJicq9vWLHyJx0mUA9DSFFhFkvamKIU1KdYGaISp8OcNnGFc0jR6pYoJzK14AneFcjLYXYzM0Wx9rtivXgzTQ4-LrEKXYdwRhr-P8JdZt0_CAIJUuOU8n-2I70V1yUjf4YH8touyYwhYjdX3scnWRY0iGiIWSRIy-sqhQ/s1280/570-20-Canonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9Ys2Padsj1aUIjJicq9vWLHyJx0mUA9DSFFhFkvamKIU1KdYGaISp8OcNnGFc0jR6pYoJzK14AneFcjLYXYzM0Wx9rtivXgzTQ4-LrEKXYdwRhr-P8JdZt0_CAIJUuOU8n-2I70V1yUjf4YH8touyYwhYjdX3scnWRY0iGiIWSRIy-sqhQ/w400-h264/570-20-Canonica.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">La Canonica</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwjJGi51-tihOyshbWdVF4AdjQtygJX5NJaPqD4QybO43h5MNkmFnJgKoccsFrxfIk9aVDwb9U1HHMMt42a0NeuLOrcXuR_qM8Oi0wF1KOu7UjMlvnkRpdA3MIrIKqhyPxw0cAwzR_yOSYXbgBqTZYvywY0K6_d_iK2KMQHk0JAWpsipIOw/s1280/570-21-Canonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwjJGi51-tihOyshbWdVF4AdjQtygJX5NJaPqD4QybO43h5MNkmFnJgKoccsFrxfIk9aVDwb9U1HHMMt42a0NeuLOrcXuR_qM8Oi0wF1KOu7UjMlvnkRpdA3MIrIKqhyPxw0cAwzR_yOSYXbgBqTZYvywY0K6_d_iK2KMQHk0JAWpsipIOw/w400-h265/570-21-Canonica.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">La Canonica</span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We went on down to the sandy beach where we paddled in a rough sea, more like England than the Mediterranean. The beach was messy though, much of it natural with washed up driftwood, bamboo canes, reeds, leaves, seed pods and branches. Nonetheless, both here and all around the countryside on the plain surrounding Bastia, there is much abandoned rubbish in the hedges, by the roadsides, strewn across the fields, all round the hotel where we stayed, by the little parade of shops, and all along beaches. Most of it is drinks cans and bottles and cigarette packets. Firms like Coca Cola and Marlborough have much to answer for in contributing to the ruination of the countryside. There seems to be a direct relationship between the poverty and general living standards of a country or region [...] and the regard the inhabitants have for the area in which they live. Here they don't seem to care that they are spoiling so much beauty by dumping anything they no longer need at the nearest convenient spot. Above Bastia we saw rubbish just tipped over the cliff edge. There was anything and everything - old drainpipes, cars, fridges, tyres, gas cookers, builders' rubble, cans, plastic containers and much more, scarring the most beautiful of hillsides. In the towns, the general rubbish around the streets - dog mess, spittle, cigarette butts, paper, packaging, cans etc. can only make living in such confined streets and alleys as Bastia has all the more unpleasant. [...]</span></span></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoHA_YM_m_L_iCJNAmyX1xJRxPtRiiDz9gSkWFz8y_sAFRwRluA59Djoiqb4xoQ0zv7D7pSA8vFl3ARDUxV6k-TrpA1AsQwVDioT--HOoJaj86mp39AQoELJ42BsCXVQ8XmFBhCPoZhRRn0rXErTydzLWdDWWA23NnfLNEAAP-pY1YQN1uQ/s1280/570-14-Teghime-Col.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="846" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoHA_YM_m_L_iCJNAmyX1xJRxPtRiiDz9gSkWFz8y_sAFRwRluA59Djoiqb4xoQ0zv7D7pSA8vFl3ARDUxV6k-TrpA1AsQwVDioT--HOoJaj86mp39AQoELJ42BsCXVQ8XmFBhCPoZhRRn0rXErTydzLWdDWWA23NnfLNEAAP-pY1YQN1uQ/w265-h400/570-14-Teghime-Col.jpg" width="265" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Col de Teghine, fly tipping</span></i></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">Having paddled in the sea and philosophized on the above we left the beach and drove back to the main road where we filled up with petrol. Still having time to spare before the car was due to be returned, we drove up for a final visit into the hills, touching the edge of the Castagniccia. Here it was much greener. The leaves of the trees covering the hillside gave welcome shade and a sense of freshness. Once we were away from the main road, the traffic disappeared. We climbed up, rounding hairpin bends until we were high above the plain with views down onto the lagoon and the ridge we had driven along last night. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">We reached the village of Borgo, a large, seemingly prosperous place, as they go. It may well be a commuter town for Bastia. There is an impressive war memorial - again all the names are Italian, and a plaque telling the story of the town and its place in French history. It swears its allegiance to France in letters of gold, both literally and metaphorically. It seems too that this little town of 3,400 inhabitants is the birthplace of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry author of the children's story <i>Le petit prince</i>, who disappeared on a mission in his fighter plane during the Second World War. It is also a place for a palindrome: Able was I ere I was Elba. From the church there is a clear view of the island of Elba, showing amid the clouds far out to sea. Poor Napoléon, stuck out there, held captive so near to home and yet so far from it. It actually looks quite large, and </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">Napoléon was allowed to keep his little toy army with him. At least it must have been better than Saint Helena.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"> Certainly Borgo was a pleasant place to spend our last hour at large in Corsica, with an extensive square from which a maze of narrow, shady alleyways radiated in all directions, where dogs slept in the shade. The buildings were all picturesque ruins with huge broken doors and falling plaster. The inhabitants seem to be as unaware of the dilapidated conditions in which they live as they are of the sheer beauty of the countryside where their villages are located. Much of the soil though seems parched and arid, incapable of sustaining anything other than olive trees, the maquis and cactuses. If it is this dry now, what will the countryside be like in August, the time when most of the tourists arrive? I'm glad we came now; it must be the most beautiful time of the year to be here. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">We are now at the airport terminal, having returned our loyal vehicle to Europcars. It was a good little Peugeot 206, even if it did beep every time I opened the door and had electric windows. It got us everywhere we wanted to go, and had wonderful air conditioning. In all we have driven 1,352 kilometers around Corsica (840 miles), an island 110 miles long by 50 miles wide, so the twists and turns of the roads must account for much of the distance, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">particularly when you consider just how few roads there actually are here.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">We arrived at the airport in comfortable time but as yet the luggage check-in for our flight has not opened, and it begins to look suspiciously as if our flight will be delayed. In fact we have just been told that there is a two hour delay with our plane taking off from Gatwick as the pilot did not turn up to fly the plane out here, so they had to find another pilot who knew the way. We are supposed to be at Gatwick at 3.30 British time. It's nearly that now, so I think we will definitely be late for my Uncle George's birthday party at which we were expected in Croydon late this afternoon. Then we have to return to Exeter, braving the Spring Bank Holiday traffic on the A303, after two weeks exploring this beautiful island. At work on Tuesday it will all seem like a dream.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrhqlaNX1Upum6uB4mnw822U8-u2-s55mKyBaaxbSxzD8A55OOcuP2zDjxl0Wg-Ch2qR1bHE7Y_7wtFyIfRJtEn-FGi0XD_Cf3ImzLm8C6wP7KDJnhGmlt2lXwSCoFsPxgDdhuy9DTdjLhQn6cSFv63Wpc56SFGfcaJM3bJko3v_iOJTCjg/s1280/570-22-Aerial-view.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrhqlaNX1Upum6uB4mnw822U8-u2-s55mKyBaaxbSxzD8A55OOcuP2zDjxl0Wg-Ch2qR1bHE7Y_7wtFyIfRJtEn-FGi0XD_Cf3ImzLm8C6wP7KDJnhGmlt2lXwSCoFsPxgDdhuy9DTdjLhQn6cSFv63Wpc56SFGfcaJM3bJko3v_iOJTCjg/w400-h300/570-22-Aerial-view.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7W1Vu2vZIMflB0-sULEAFKyWxOAW7jNSvw-1RaSd1g5JTpklJjl14mQzp6_arwlFw1DPsPzHWHipeCMQRldUSjs5W-xTUW9LFyRjOmRXk3an-LAXPOb63mzurfYUlHoAGjn5Riq1O_fo_sqAXzIBv-mGTUActnyccidRfpS-xNo97TdgdQ/s1280/570-23-Aerial-view.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="1280" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7W1Vu2vZIMflB0-sULEAFKyWxOAW7jNSvw-1RaSd1g5JTpklJjl14mQzp6_arwlFw1DPsPzHWHipeCMQRldUSjs5W-xTUW9LFyRjOmRXk3an-LAXPOb63mzurfYUlHoAGjn5Riq1O_fo_sqAXzIBv-mGTUActnyccidRfpS-xNo97TdgdQ/w400-h297/570-23-Aerial-view.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGD8PvAdo2q-UaGES-E0J6vAhQj-V1w0xVocmgq62go6-VBKzbBIz9b7_EVN8x_RieM0Y_F8VkcQFmHb6TGVFjJmPZ0tcUaWZQo_C5HNjYOp7UE4IlRYDkCZ2ljHvLwixRbC__Y_v7yOYWIa1QsvMpehw0dMZ7F23RukEfpo542sqa5vVKLw/s1280/570-24-Aerial-view.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1280" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGD8PvAdo2q-UaGES-E0J6vAhQj-V1w0xVocmgq62go6-VBKzbBIz9b7_EVN8x_RieM0Y_F8VkcQFmHb6TGVFjJmPZ0tcUaWZQo_C5HNjYOp7UE4IlRYDkCZ2ljHvLwixRbC__Y_v7yOYWIa1QsvMpehw0dMZ7F23RukEfpo542sqa5vVKLw/w400-h329/570-24-Aerial-view.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Farewell to the mountains of Corsica - from our delayed plane.</span></i></div></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
1. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-1-bastia-to-porto.html">Bastia to Porto</a>.<br />
2. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-2-porto-to-zonza.html">Porto to Zonza</a>.<br />
3. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-3-zonza-to-corte.html">Zonza to Corte</a>.<br />
4. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-4-corte-to-bastia.html">Corte to Bastia</a>.</span><br />
Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-48834759901205849272022-09-18T23:07:00.005+01:002022-09-19T18:16:27.172+01:00Corsica 1999. 3: Zonza to Corte<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Corsica : a tour in May 1999</span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-1-bastia-to-porto.html">Bastia to Porto</a>.<br />2. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-2-porto-to-zonza.html">Porto to Zonza</a>.<br />3. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-3-zonza-to-corte.html">Zonza to Corte</a>.<br />4. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-4-corte-to-bastia.html">Corte to Bastia</a>.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Part 3. Zonza to Corte</span></b></div>
<p><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> <span>Monday 24 May 1999</span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We were woken at 7 am by the church bells, followed a moment later by the Zonza dogs' rendition of the dawn chorus. We told Monsieur le Patron that, if it was okay by him, we would stay another night. That was fine, he said, provided that we ate at his restaurant tonight. Given the size of our room and the fact that there seem to have been no shops open anywhere in the mountain villages over Pentecȏte (the Whitsun holiday), and given the excellence of his cuisine, we readily agreed to do so.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We drove out of Zonza toward Levie, and soon found a beautiful spot to pull off the road for a picnic breakfast on some large granite boulders in a little clearing, giving a wonderful view back over the hillside with Zonza nestling below the grey granite needles of Bavelle, its ragged range of teeth clear against a blue sky indicative of the heat of the day to come. It must be one of the most beautiful places anyone could find to eat breakfast - pineapple juice, yogurt and baguette with bananas. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Our intention today was to follow a round route through the mountains, taking in Cucuruzzu, Ste Lucie de Tallano, Aullène and Quenza, and thus back to Zonza. Our first stop was at the prehistoric site of the Castello de Cucuruzzu, up a badly damaged, twisting, narrow track. The site was delightful, a Bronze Age fortress village abandoned around 300 BCE set amid the maquis and the chestnut trees, constructed amid the chaos of tumbled granite rocks and massive boulders. The setting is magnificent, with views to the Bavelle and Mont Incudini, snow still lingering in the crevices of the latter. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpy6vi4SGn-tcn3OZqv4pZnxX-khNv9zC-V6dYjBYIQi5F4Pjw-ZCDta_8MOqeTBBxWVnDLZjWTtpWmumaXJqd9lM_W24_msvJVvFa9MD8J8enisJoiOyJxQ4PCI4X6uoaSim-I66zYYEJtThCWLyRn1p3e4lu4UCW4JAv9SnkkuU8lyNuXw/s1280/560-02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="848" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpy6vi4SGn-tcn3OZqv4pZnxX-khNv9zC-V6dYjBYIQi5F4Pjw-ZCDta_8MOqeTBBxWVnDLZjWTtpWmumaXJqd9lM_W24_msvJVvFa9MD8J8enisJoiOyJxQ4PCI4X6uoaSim-I66zYYEJtThCWLyRn1p3e4lu4UCW4JAv9SnkkuU8lyNuXw/w265-h400/560-02.jpg" width="265" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2zi9V8to5V60YRVazufYguOaL6zyOe2X_3H_aUubKZiB-12S3tqZmbMo0C15CQbS0_uL6nmJsvO7NxLDqyiTlUBEG6T3K6LcaaSsYa0gUbjwXVKG5HKHMua-O1ZPDrsk90frfgTsIGl_Lx4u85dJ4th-CZEiiFdHhVcBxL6MCASQ4v5w1w/s1280/560-03-Cucuruzzu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2zi9V8to5V60YRVazufYguOaL6zyOe2X_3H_aUubKZiB-12S3tqZmbMo0C15CQbS0_uL6nmJsvO7NxLDqyiTlUBEG6T3K6LcaaSsYa0gUbjwXVKG5HKHMua-O1ZPDrsk90frfgTsIGl_Lx4u85dJ4th-CZEiiFdHhVcBxL6MCASQ4v5w1w/w400-h268/560-03-Cucuruzzu.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJGPyY_cJ4D_fAy-FUYTFLphm5kVOvPHJesH-5Pgj82mgBerq1MU32Ljd7dlZiWJ5MXo5zZG9JEvhQkvvPLjs3FLn5OnHjiBpbydDhzT6LD4LkPYt9NzuYd3KMXyfCCk5WHDJ5GjXR7taA4X2d_avM8tBnjD1m4lI_MXBDYXZztZ7qcI5yQ/s1280/560-04-Cucuruzzu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJGPyY_cJ4D_fAy-FUYTFLphm5kVOvPHJesH-5Pgj82mgBerq1MU32Ljd7dlZiWJ5MXo5zZG9JEvhQkvvPLjs3FLn5OnHjiBpbydDhzT6LD4LkPYt9NzuYd3KMXyfCCk5WHDJ5GjXR7taA4X2d_avM8tBnjD1m4lI_MXBDYXZztZ7qcI5yQ/w400-h265/560-04-Cucuruzzu.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf70Ungfsd41OaV725pOsxmh-S5T7X0ARWvQtQ7GscVQbPswvsZEJRrXOm3AGGS5HnzMHqtT8HX82sFc8nG-j6UK8cG6OKfxH9dMHtxuBecRAVFt-Gk5AnZ2_TV_YvmyDGrJB8b33CcOT0xQ0RnbQNxbHOU_jc564Bi5ZJjgZ3D0-kR-W_Nw/s1280/560-05-Cucuruzzu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf70Ungfsd41OaV725pOsxmh-S5T7X0ARWvQtQ7GscVQbPswvsZEJRrXOm3AGGS5HnzMHqtT8HX82sFc8nG-j6UK8cG6OKfxH9dMHtxuBecRAVFt-Gk5AnZ2_TV_YvmyDGrJB8b33CcOT0xQ0RnbQNxbHOU_jc564Bi5ZJjgZ3D0-kR-W_Nw/w400-h264/560-05-Cucuruzzu.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKClGvBjjjExA4SNRs8or7_ewfS7Ch6lWTPL4AqnF5ITjc7C9Qc8Uoc7Vq6PqEHF-2tOaRqBDQS_MwQk32abzR5zU1s8RfNFAqNeo4k40yyk5qPNM9LZ6rW_5kLtbvcj0tE15t57m1Q06SrkxHOcUqfKtv57vFID6JKJVPxvWtf_3LcUJsw/s1280/560-06-Cucuruzzu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKClGvBjjjExA4SNRs8or7_ewfS7Ch6lWTPL4AqnF5ITjc7C9Qc8Uoc7Vq6PqEHF-2tOaRqBDQS_MwQk32abzR5zU1s8RfNFAqNeo4k40yyk5qPNM9LZ6rW_5kLtbvcj0tE15t57m1Q06SrkxHOcUqfKtv57vFID6JKJVPxvWtf_3LcUJsw/w400-h264/560-06-Cucuruzzu.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Views in and around the prehistoric site of Cucuruzzu</span></i></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The weather was really hot, and the sun searingly bright, so it was good that much of the route took us through moist, cool woodland, still damp from yesterday's storm, with the foliage of the oak and chestnut trees to keep off the sun's glare. Pink cyclamen grew between the rocks and beneath the trees. The Torrean culture made the most of the natural lie of the rocks, infilling between them to make grazing pens or huts for dwelling places. They had dark underground storage chambers where surplus food was stored in jars against times of hardship or attack. Being in the mountains however, this was less of a risk than had they been near the coast where attacks from Sardinia of Italy were more common. By the time we had seen round Cucuruzzu and the neighbouring site of Capula, it was about 2 pm, so we went back to the little shady area we had left the car and picnicked beneath the trees. Then we continued our journey, stopping frequently to admire the breathtakingly beautiful scenery and the little mountain villages clinging tenaciously to the hillsides and hilltops. My sense of direction was confused, as I was totally nonplussed to recognise a very short stretch of the route we had travelled a couple of days ago from Sartène when we went to Colomba's village of Fozzano. We turned off almost immediately onto another route however and entered the little hilltop village of Ste Lucie di Tallano, parking by the fountain. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It is another beautiful granite village with enormous buildings. There is an oil mill there, used for crushing the olives of the local cooperative. There is also a wholesalers where we saw boxes of oil packaged and stacked much the same way as wine. A big poster proclaimed "l'huile nouvelle est arrivée", much as if it were Beaujolais. In the central square is the memorial to the villagers lost in the wars. Every surname on the monument is Italian; in fact there is scarcely a French family name to be found in this part of Corsica, indeed all over the island it is Italian in everything but government and its official language of French. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">In the village fountain was a little boy of about seven or eight. He looked a real little bruiser and was kicking water at anyone who came within splashing distance. Other children were of course trying to splash him by creeping up from behind. An elderly lady scolded him from across the square, and ordered him out of the fountain. No sooner was her back turned than he was back in the fountain again. He was reasonably well-behaved as adults came to fill their bottles and jugs, so we took a couple of our water bottles and mugs and filled them with the cool water, taking long refreshing drinks. The temptation to splash Ian overcame young Antoine. As we left the fountain Ian poured a beaker of water over Antoine's head. Total astonishment. I think he was used to grown-ups shouting at him, but not treating him as he treated others. He looked at me, pressed his finger to his temple and asked "Il est fou, hein?" I assured him the actually yes, he was mad, so he'd better be careful of splashing people in the future as there were lots of people like Ian in England and they may be taking their holiday in Corsica.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">As we continued our tortuous route, we encountered groups of brown pigs and lonely solitary cattle among the ferns of the roadside. At Aullène both pigs and cattle were wandering at will among the houses of the village. Here the nicest thing was the overgrown cemetery at the top of the village with beautiful wild flowers in profusion amid the gravestone so that a granite cross would protrude from a sea of purple vetch. There were wonderful views all round, while bees hummed and all was very peaceful. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">At Quenza we stopped for a walk up the main street. Like all the other villages it had a couple of bars where people sat on the street outside for hours chatting, with nothing else to do. Wisteria and roses covered crumbling walls and collapsing balconies, there was a church, a fountain, a war memorial, a post office and a mairie, and that was it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>So we continued back to Zonza where the sun was low in the sky but still hot and bright. After a wash we went down to the terrace of the hotel and ordered a couple of Corsican beers, which are both good and strong - six per cent. The patron lent us his newspaper Corse matin and we read about plagues of jellyfish around the coast and that an attempt had been made on the life of a Corsican politician. Over the past year there has been a great deal of political unrest in Corsica of which we are only dimly aware. Many of the French signs have either been crossed out or written over in the Corsican language or been shot at and defaced. There are slogans with the name Bonnett as graffiti on the walls in the towns. I gather that the préfet </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: left;">Claude Erignac </span><span>was murdered here in February last year and Bernard Bonnett was moved in by the French government to succeed him andclean up corruption in the island. He has recently been arrested himself for bribing the Corsican police, for corruption and organizing the arson of a number of restaurants. He is himself now in prison, and the island seems to be divided between those who support him because they think him capable of curing corrpution, and those who say that he is equally corrupt himself. We learned quite a lot reading the aper before supper including articles on the "Tour de Force" cycle race and the Dadadang drumming group in Ajaccio. The patron has promised to let us have the paper tomorrow when he has finished with it.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We went in to supper and Ian had trout while I had veal. Both were delicious, accompanied by vegetable soufflet and salad, the main dish preceded by crudités and followed by cheeses, îles flottantes and cheese gâteau. We then phoned our son Neil, where all was well, so we had an earlier night, exhausted by the heat of the day. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXHDM4adPl2SXyOvQEcLfa29c7GakeYluyOu_F8DH5COgm8faNXoQ0fNM2MBBBkJZstMd7YLOfKT5txRba02VDKG20tjTkDZs_Vx3m-7wBY8JPXSjx9b8IOQ3MOnvENZZUtrRSeCCcGg6cJttFgPKOtfD0t9HpVo4pnq8R05-BM7w2IazPA/s1280/560-07.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="1280" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXHDM4adPl2SXyOvQEcLfa29c7GakeYluyOu_F8DH5COgm8faNXoQ0fNM2MBBBkJZstMd7YLOfKT5txRba02VDKG20tjTkDZs_Vx3m-7wBY8JPXSjx9b8IOQ3MOnvENZZUtrRSeCCcGg6cJttFgPKOtfD0t9HpVo4pnq8R05-BM7w2IazPA/w400-h286/560-07.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dLsg_0seL6EYSVpwEfuEVBHhHkC29lKJK67DoGsPZp-Z_z_ByNk2xQiOEvv3lGIOM2-QIAR794wX0FxgpfkmV5DhPQFQv3xS7hhs-JzAm4cF_Kmu74cXgrWlk6PFZc9RgsWvJ7S9F0UxJPmq2I9MGNOg-O8wejocG4M4LBYhpKYcsOXmxA/s1280/560-08.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dLsg_0seL6EYSVpwEfuEVBHhHkC29lKJK67DoGsPZp-Z_z_ByNk2xQiOEvv3lGIOM2-QIAR794wX0FxgpfkmV5DhPQFQv3xS7hhs-JzAm4cF_Kmu74cXgrWlk6PFZc9RgsWvJ7S9F0UxJPmq2I9MGNOg-O8wejocG4M4LBYhpKYcsOXmxA/w400-h300/560-08.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Pigs by the roadside</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div><b style="text-align: justify;">Tuesday 25 May 1999</b></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>We were again woken at 7 am by the howling dogs of Zonza. It seems that every mointain village has its quota of barking and howling dogs. Either they all sing in unison, or they lie flat out in the road, seeking any spot of shade they can find from the fternoon heat. They are all scruffy and docile and generally totally ignore us, even if we are in the car trying to edge past. </span><span>We packed and left the hotel by 8.30 am. The bill was 800 francs for two nights, including meals, wine and beer.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>We made our way up to the Col de Bavella, passing or seeing no vehicles all the way. The air was really pleasant, the sun bright and warming up for the rest of the day. At the top of the col were several camping cars with eager young people armed with ropes and rucksacks, preparing to ascent the needles of the Bavella. It looked quite daunting to us, and nothing would have induced us up there. They were very impressive, just raw nature, huge jagged peaks, lichen covered, so a pale green in places, elsewhere a pinkish grey</span> granite, their needles slashing the blue morning sky, their crevasses and slopes filled with pine trees, and the lower reaches of the gorge completely hidden beneath the treetops of pines. Near to, every rock you looked at was like part of a vast garden with all the wild flowers imaginable filling their fissures and cracks. We walked out along the path toward the ascent of Bavella and even climbed gingerly onto the lowest stretch but, not being suitably prepared in any respect, we decided that twisted ankles should be avoided, and contented ourselves with gazing out in either direction from the col, from where we could discern the sea on either side of the island, toward Propriano in the west and Solenzara in the east.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We ate yogurt and biscottes sitting on the rocks and looking at the mountains. Nearby in a parking area was a statue of Notre Dame des Neiges with plaques placed around her in gratitude by people she had safeguarded when they climbed. There were also candles placed there as offerings.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfJ3Brhyfv16dAV-BU-4hopaxll24FhGfTeazzQsmmlBbs0DbhdYc5jq1sD95ufYfm3RVc2VMBtas6nTZAsWOrdKUJBKVRVBUu-emAi2F3uE5K1xLEMTOyy6OkIWCcuPGW-wD8aiit6QHFfqMyCL6Ih8pddUCs5zKX5vgB38c84ALrM9Piw/s1280/560-09-Bavella-Col.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfJ3Brhyfv16dAV-BU-4hopaxll24FhGfTeazzQsmmlBbs0DbhdYc5jq1sD95ufYfm3RVc2VMBtas6nTZAsWOrdKUJBKVRVBUu-emAi2F3uE5K1xLEMTOyy6OkIWCcuPGW-wD8aiit6QHFfqMyCL6Ih8pddUCs5zKX5vgB38c84ALrM9Piw/w400-h266/560-09-Bavella-Col.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7XnAy0YBbo5Li_LQGoUBdsUYEMTGAbuaYOjQIsIZ19546PN-XWPWStxJpTMaS2xZcu_AZDFfninoPQGIwebtFS-ypvX0YKkIdVrKDc-hvfZN2sx9rKpGOxrmLcgya108nMtJoS9-Fykr91MjgJx2kWbpoS5ztENhi3yMFNcLMTdXbf7cdA/s1280/560-10-Bavella-Col.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7XnAy0YBbo5Li_LQGoUBdsUYEMTGAbuaYOjQIsIZ19546PN-XWPWStxJpTMaS2xZcu_AZDFfninoPQGIwebtFS-ypvX0YKkIdVrKDc-hvfZN2sx9rKpGOxrmLcgya108nMtJoS9-Fykr91MjgJx2kWbpoS5ztENhi3yMFNcLMTdXbf7cdA/w400-h265/560-10-Bavella-Col.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEXCVldxtlQ2VCus2LE_UKSX7cfIiUJneq_kH3_1d9MkqZEVUAU__UD4ywQXNu8xDIwQPepZ-A3BNUXYY29T8Gf73V8mNPipNjY4uleYM4K8rES2EgqbT20SxPWUCsRc6VFPL_PlxVl4GVJhktyW6hHWX92vZkKACA5faPAj_mxvB2_i5lA/s1280/560-11-Bavella-Col.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEXCVldxtlQ2VCus2LE_UKSX7cfIiUJneq_kH3_1d9MkqZEVUAU__UD4ywQXNu8xDIwQPepZ-A3BNUXYY29T8Gf73V8mNPipNjY4uleYM4K8rES2EgqbT20SxPWUCsRc6VFPL_PlxVl4GVJhktyW6hHWX92vZkKACA5faPAj_mxvB2_i5lA/w400-h263/560-11-Bavella-Col.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGx2hM6zVZRucBIbnLs95KJ1EETI0sFRykWzdvR9-k1Lq6eTiq8TG4cH5XF25DpiTsbz_mlgBW8uj_ncW_znQjRVv_mUPsGQm5GQsENrNItah5oNA_Tvd6Hth9uwHqepVA8Zv6B7r7qYkF2ZSawUoQ8GqBxWTTyZCMx6j-0S_rTOHUfTSsfQ/s1280/560-12-Bavella-Col.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGx2hM6zVZRucBIbnLs95KJ1EETI0sFRykWzdvR9-k1Lq6eTiq8TG4cH5XF25DpiTsbz_mlgBW8uj_ncW_znQjRVv_mUPsGQm5GQsENrNItah5oNA_Tvd6Hth9uwHqepVA8Zv6B7r7qYkF2ZSawUoQ8GqBxWTTyZCMx6j-0S_rTOHUfTSsfQ/w400-h265/560-12-Bavella-Col.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYWwRmDThAEsVXNrZdF5VbPSuBATGxOX9FuXZ0j1rYObQWI31DEZ4M6iQJXkwhKCBL_8gBOeVQMrdYz1hsnvaBeefC5p7KIhB0SKj4INa5hSpN-IpNmt-zdhSUmJBa4dPeM5h0-OCfneiStgOfIug7o3z8SrKZ-JPvpcDwLp1vdmb-6_B9w/s1280/560-13-Bavella-Col.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYWwRmDThAEsVXNrZdF5VbPSuBATGxOX9FuXZ0j1rYObQWI31DEZ4M6iQJXkwhKCBL_8gBOeVQMrdYz1hsnvaBeefC5p7KIhB0SKj4INa5hSpN-IpNmt-zdhSUmJBa4dPeM5h0-OCfneiStgOfIug7o3z8SrKZ-JPvpcDwLp1vdmb-6_B9w/w400-h264/560-13-Bavella-Col.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Views in and around the Col de Bavella</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>As we started our descent of the far side of the col, the sun was already very hot. We twisted our way down from the level of the pine trees, crushing cone which lay in profusion on the roads down to the level of the chestnut trees and oaks again with flowers, long grasses and ferns by the roadside and the vague scent of honey in the warm morning air. The road became progressively narrower and the surface was filled with bumps and potholes, the metalling breaking up very badly. Occasionally we pulled in tight to allow vehicles to pass. By now, after all our experiences near les Calanches, we were more used to handling such situations. Cars and mad cyclists pedalling their way up were generally no problem, as were the </span><span>leather-clad </span><span>black helmeted German and Belgian motorcyclists who have discovered Corsica in a big way. However a lorry necessitated reversing both backwards and upwards before a refuge could be found into which I squeezed as the lorry passed us heading a cavalcade of cars caught up behind. Then the metalling gave out completely and the road became a narrow potholed track where we just weaved between ruts at a snail's pace. Then even this rough scree gave out and we were on the bare soil. At this point we encountered a bulldozer and digger. They had taken a stretch in the middle of nowhere to work on, but it will be better once it is completed. I think they are trying to widen the route. Much work has been done to improve these routes but they remain, in general, the worst we have ever travelled on. This road is the only route through from Zonza to the east coast, so it's not as if it's never used. We slowly progressed round the sharp hidden bends, stopping when we could to look up at the scenery, perhaps even more impressive from below than it had been from the top. Suddenly we seemed to be in Germany! It was so strange, every single vehicle we passed or met was German. They had all come to the eastern end of valley of the little river the road was following, and had parked beneath the trees to enjoy sunbathing on the rocks by the water. It cannot be chance; there were literally hundreds of German vehicles. We have seen many German holidaymakers all over Corsica, but nothing like this. How does everyone hear about this one particular place and why do they all go there together? </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">As we arrived at the lower reaches of the river Solenzara, leaving the mountain range behind, we drove beside the clear bubbling stream as it tumbled amongst the white granite boulders. On the far side a couple of shepherds had brought their flock of mountain goats down to the water to drink. It made a wonderful picture of rural life alongside, but distinctly separate from, the tourists enjoying the countryside and, hopefully in some measure, also supporting the local economy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw994LFyoQ8BR0VR-ova8E_n3PuaLvn8q2CBJmTOzhRv-tQQzRJWpch47YIRpfRZ53htVvsJH4_EQkeQ_o2mnSiqx2wExp18Qw1ShzVvgI-SMRijLeSeLQnhsJdpG1Q_PF5WSeAof0UarIHAXu5JwbKBcwgK8_6tiJ91LIGMTQsVHgrhWPlQ/s1280/560-14-Solenzara.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw994LFyoQ8BR0VR-ova8E_n3PuaLvn8q2CBJmTOzhRv-tQQzRJWpch47YIRpfRZ53htVvsJH4_EQkeQ_o2mnSiqx2wExp18Qw1ShzVvgI-SMRijLeSeLQnhsJdpG1Q_PF5WSeAof0UarIHAXu5JwbKBcwgK8_6tiJ91LIGMTQsVHgrhWPlQ/w400-h300/560-14-Solenzara.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Solenzara, goatherds</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9fjiHT1Ciy8no6fwXuuxVUkmwepLQEAl4XOd3-oKkqiftR_GRG7jdZ1NQTgV3dSWpiNjKLpr38_5MNo2QryE5L0LXgJOQH8be4nmo09r5Gpqa_Oman83o5pFWPCTmtq1OC9mCKZnWJFqullvhQhiPhwjnqyjkKZd9FL9KYthBWodidhFgQ/s1280/560-15-Solenzara.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9fjiHT1Ciy8no6fwXuuxVUkmwepLQEAl4XOd3-oKkqiftR_GRG7jdZ1NQTgV3dSWpiNjKLpr38_5MNo2QryE5L0LXgJOQH8be4nmo09r5Gpqa_Oman83o5pFWPCTmtq1OC9mCKZnWJFqullvhQhiPhwjnqyjkKZd9FL9KYthBWodidhFgQ/w400-h263/560-15-Solenzara.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Solenzara</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Once we eventually came out at the sea on the eastern side and turned up the main road northward, there were hundreds more German cars, all too big for the narrow Corsican roads, pouring down from Bastia to Ghisonaccia, where we noticed that all the signs were written in both French and German. When we reached Ghisonaccia, which means "nasty Ghison" because it used to lie in the malaria-ridden plains until it was bombed with DDT in the 1950s or thereabouts, we parked in a side road and found a cash point as we were low on money. The town seemed to have nothing to recommend it. Its modern flats were very ugly, and there was much waste ground full of weeds and walls covered with graffiti, mainly for or against a politician named Bonnett, and dusty areas where cars are parked and children play. However it has a superb bakery! We purchased bread, apple tart and figelli, a sort of Corsican pasty with local charcuterie and bacon inside. We took our spoils and drove down to the sea, where we picnicked on a surprisingly empty beach. Ian was interested to note that there was topless sunbathing going on around us; I contented myself with paddling in the crystal-clear sea where very slight waves lapped gently around my ankles - very different from the Devon beaches, where you get knocked backward and forward by the force of the waves and the undercurrent.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Then we drove on to Aléria to view the archaeological site. It was once the Roman capital of Corsica, built on the site of an earlier Greek city, and abandoned after the fall of the Roman Empire. It boasted hot baths and an important harbour for the Roman fleet. There was also an accompanying museum for artifacts found either on the site or in nearby tombs, including beautiful Greek vases, plates and ornaments, superbly painted and beautifully shaped. The site dates from the sixth century BC to the fourth century AD. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The sun was at its hottest, it seemed, as we walked from the old fort across the fields to the site. Fortunately there was a row of mulberry trees bearing sweet fast-ripening fruit, to give some shade along the way, but all around there were long, blond grasses with seedheads, and wild oats all interspersed with beautiful flowering weeds. It was the same at the site itself. It had been allowed to get so overgrown that much is now hidden from view, the grasses being higher than the walls. Enough was visible however to give an impression, and Ian was able to interpret it for me. It was a wonderful afternoon amongst the ruins, the snow still showing on the mountains behind, and the hot sandy beaches and the blue sea in front. The whole atmosphere was so Italian; we had to keep reminding ourselves we were in France. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGmNy_QDdidMyjOqaWkH05ZHvAJCEQwIw9IKXV8CAn_kv9P0LM1SQss6yCOHQBzr7pjDZYiaV7yA_rP11qybsZPMzetFhPw0yFHyiQ7186zlBE_vCeNOQwgYvoqcUV0JFpj0aHdesLu3AqKsWnjNtMK8Zv47ooN68ADLtWeklf7HSf4T0CA/s1280/560-16-Aleria.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGmNy_QDdidMyjOqaWkH05ZHvAJCEQwIw9IKXV8CAn_kv9P0LM1SQss6yCOHQBzr7pjDZYiaV7yA_rP11qybsZPMzetFhPw0yFHyiQ7186zlBE_vCeNOQwgYvoqcUV0JFpj0aHdesLu3AqKsWnjNtMK8Zv47ooN68ADLtWeklf7HSf4T0CA/w400-h263/560-16-Aleria.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Aléria</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmE1vjh7p5jCuu-e-giMAZ44Wl8-0OfkTrzf2z8IKTBlRhD-d-8h66jua01ACpKudI14DnRsMDT8gYB7P_A8V6YxyydblgvM5YLHRQctiVfNDH2b-5UNh-Ijcm0un3dHVjss3D3QZiYAMPKbp0FzPBSnOBnc045HT4fi6wLZ8Ya5MouGIIDw/s1280/560-17-Aleria.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1280" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmE1vjh7p5jCuu-e-giMAZ44Wl8-0OfkTrzf2z8IKTBlRhD-d-8h66jua01ACpKudI14DnRsMDT8gYB7P_A8V6YxyydblgvM5YLHRQctiVfNDH2b-5UNh-Ijcm0un3dHVjss3D3QZiYAMPKbp0FzPBSnOBnc045HT4fi6wLZ8Ya5MouGIIDw/w400-h269/560-17-Aleria.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Al</span></i><i><span style="font-size: medium;">é</span></i><i><span style="font-size: medium;">ria</span></i></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Then on up the route to Corte, where we are now staying. We thought we had found a nice peaceful hotel in a side street but it's now midnight and music is blaring full-pelt from a club on the main street and it's far too hot to shut the windows. There are also some Belgian bikers talking on the veranda next door, so I doubt we'll get much sleep.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Corte is a university town and there a lot of young people around, so I suppose it would be livelier and noisier than other towns. This is good, and there is a nice atmosphere on the streets.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>26 May, 1999</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This is a noisy town and no, it's not good! The music was blaring into the early hours and at 5.30 the town dust cart revved and roared beneath our open window. The hotel is situated on the rue de Calme! Can we get them under the French trade description act, especially when the hotel next door is called the Hotel de Paix? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">But it is an interesting town, set at 600 meters in the centre of the surrounding mountains. Every direction you look is green and beautiful. The town has a population of around 5,500 but is still the third largest in Corsica. Everyone is crowded onto the hilltop, the citadel at the top and the railway at the bottom. There is now modern development spreading across the lower area. It is obviously cheaper and easier to build new than restore the town that already exists as it is very picturesque but in a very tragic state of disrepair. I only hope the people's homes are comfortable inside the decayed and crumbing ruins because from outside many just don't look habitable, with gaping holes where windows should be, cracked and crumbling walls, fallen plaster, grey shutters that have long since lost any semblance of paintwork, rusty ironwork and weeds growing in the street, gutters and cracks in the walls. It's as bad as Hungary, but without the graffiti, except for the occasional scrawl, particularly on the post office for some reason, about the politician Bonnett. Because of the climate however it does not seem to strike as being so tragic as in eastern Europe, but both here, and in the majority of the villages, the housing is awful. Here the children have nowhere to play. They all live in these old, crumbling apartment buildings, and play in the narrow cobbled streets outside with cars parked on any patch of pavement there may be, while others hoot their way through. All around is unbelievable beauty, but it cannot be reached by people crammed into this picturesque but also very ugly town. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The main street, Corso Paoli, is a buzz of activity, with little shops, bars, restaurants etc. Students and those without other employment occupy the seats of the bars on the pavement at all hours, smoking and drinking coffee or creme de menthe, which seems a very popular drink here. Tourists, mostly German, Belgian or Italian stroll the streets with their guidebooks or sit picnicking where they can, usually on steps, of which there are many leading up to the citadel. We did not notice many English or American visitors here. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Last night we climbed to the belvedere, from where we had a superb panoramic view of the surrounding hills and down over the town. It is a high crag of rock, with steps cut into the side. We walked back along the narrow pebbled alleyways, down steep uneven granite steps, stopping off at the Eglise de l'Annonciation, where Corte's very own saint, Théophile has his wax life-sized effigy dressed as a monk lying in an illuminated tomb in the far corner. No other lights were on, and it seemed rather spooky with nobody else around. We found a cheap restaurant and sat on the terrace built on the steep steps up to the citadel, where we enjoyed a pleasant meal with a half bottle of Corsican rosé - not worth it; red is much nicer. We watched the local people out in the cool of the evening walking their dogs - why do people in the towns always keep dogs? We also watched children playing against the gathering dusk over the surrounding mountains. The temperature was very pleasant. Finally, a walk down to the station to check train times and check on the car which we had left on a parking area and back to our hotel for a shower before bed. There is nothing wrong with the hotel, just the external noise attendant upon most town-centre hotels. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGuJ7CKugXcpai_ugNkf01rgHgATERbSkkLorXFhuLZGuAbGroTM0HCFk76xfkNAkfRTydyDRggk2lceOykOBbgrWZbZ63fHRChaWmarewI4krGhP1hCZvlwPvZiuEb5I5CNxHh_Bf5o_MDxFzz_hn11yvjinXKNX8XyGy61m65VJK7JnlvQ/s1280/560-18-Corte.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGuJ7CKugXcpai_ugNkf01rgHgATERbSkkLorXFhuLZGuAbGroTM0HCFk76xfkNAkfRTydyDRggk2lceOykOBbgrWZbZ63fHRChaWmarewI4krGhP1hCZvlwPvZiuEb5I5CNxHh_Bf5o_MDxFzz_hn11yvjinXKNX8XyGy61m65VJK7JnlvQ/w400-h265/560-18-Corte.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Corte</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>26 May, 1999 </b>(Later the same day). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It is now midnight, and this entry must be brief as I'm really tired. We are still staying at the Hôtel de la Poste in Corte. Today was our great little train journey. Checking that the car was still happily sitting on the main square parking lot, we called off for a coffee and croissant at a very nice smelling bakery on our way down to the railway station. We bought a couple of return tickets to Ajaccio and joined the many Germans on the platform with the same idea. The journey has to be the most impressive and beautiful we have ever been on. Its single track with passing points at certain stations where enough room can be found. The route rises steadily, twisting back on itself. For much of the way it runs near the road but is able to pass through a number of tunnels, one four kilometers long, The Track is narrow gauge to enable it to cope with such sharp curves and it is strange to look back and see the end of the train curving out of a tunnel behind us. The scenery was superb, particularly for me as I could sit back and enjoy, rather than coping with the interminable bends and narrow roads. We stopped at little hamlets where the only thing moving on the platforms was usually the station cat, and that was often no more than its tail to be seen as it basked in the sunshine. The journey took a couple of hours, quicker once the long steep ascent was finished and we gathered speed as we came down on the Ajaccio side, the wheels screaming on the bends, chestnut trees brushing the window as the little line passed through the abundant woodland. At other times we trundled across lofty viaducts where a tiny turquoise river far below gurgled its way amongst the white boulders and far above the bare crags and lingering snow made a complete contrast with the heavy wooded lower level.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">We finally emerged onto the plain behind Ajaccio with the blue sea of the gulf beyond. Across the bay we tried to identify where we had spent two nights in Bottacina - was it really only a week ago? We had sat watching the train as it ran near the airport then, but it was impossible to identify Bottacina from the train, although there was a scattering of pink hamlets up in the green hills. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xeE6tI4KDuU9xEXIRqRlllVmBpOoCfQFsJ2nOr9u3egRbwoDNKf4Xqc36oj2qi6K8c1p5tp5PwmK9XKC6ZBG_wtwY82vUO0KtbYOc3iNIyEMlR2AWpIXO7YfysnAtYApBND2JMvzbS_pTOhHwfLh9jeHhfDd_ZCuo7EHmMbRIeoEIvsAkA/s1280/560-19-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1280" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xeE6tI4KDuU9xEXIRqRlllVmBpOoCfQFsJ2nOr9u3egRbwoDNKf4Xqc36oj2qi6K8c1p5tp5PwmK9XKC6ZBG_wtwY82vUO0KtbYOc3iNIyEMlR2AWpIXO7YfysnAtYApBND2JMvzbS_pTOhHwfLh9jeHhfDd_ZCuo7EHmMbRIeoEIvsAkA/w400-h269/560-19-Ajaccio.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ajaccio, train station</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">At Ajaccio the sun was beautiful, with enough breeze to make it perfect, quite a contrast to last week with its rain. We bought strawberries and nectarines, and sat beneath palm trees and fruiting mulberry trees to eat them, not far from the harbour. Then we strolled along the sea wall, the fishing harbour and pleasure port teeming with silvery fish on the one side and then open Mediterranean Sea on the other. We continued round to the sea front for a gentle stroll along the parade, shaded by enormous palm trees with the soft, white sand and brilliant clear sea dotted with yachts to our left, and on our right the shops and hotels of the town. St Tropez eat your heart out!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">We eventually turned up the Boulevard Madame Mère (Napoléon's Mum Street) to the Grotte de Napoléon. High up the street in a square surrounded by flowering acacias and hibiscus and flanked by a mass of granite boulders, presumably forming the "grotte", was a lofty statue of Napoléon at the top of a flight of steps, eagles at either side and with the dates of his birth and death (1769-1821). Returning down the street to the town centre, we collapsed on the shady terrace of the Café de Paris with a sandwich and a superb Corsican beer that included chestnuts in its brewing process. We must remember to look for a Café d'Ajaccio next time we are in Paris. We made our way slowly back to the station for the return trip. The train was full and very hot. There were again many German families. We saw a monument in Ajaccio, announcing that Corsica was the first département of France to be liberated from German occupation right back in 1943. Well, some 55 years later, it has been re-invaded by Germany, but this time under far happier circumstances, and in the nicest possible way - families enjoying their holidays.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The return journey was also great fun. An elderly French couple was sitting with us and the husband kept rushing to windows on either side to take photos. Talking to the wife, she told us that they went all over Europe, specially to travel on little trains and that was how they first met. They have never grown out of being kiddie trainspotters. Back in Corte, we again checked the car, then washed and changed and went for a walk around the town. We found a nice little restaurant and the waiter seemed highly amused by us ordering in French and chatting with him. We discovered that the food on the cheap menu wasn't available, so would we mind having rump steak instead? Then, instead of French fries and salad, we had both on the plate and a portion of cauliflower au gratin as an extra. As well as ice cream, we were given the option of strawberries or chocolate pancakes - we chose the last. The bill was still for the cheapest menu they did, and we staggered back to our hotel, groaning from overeating.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3-97WczyvPuEBp0uh2ffIGQrlw14omzBOIfWuN-ismyxeUJ2qFmBip_wLWhnvSx4t5cPCkeqJvE3lwvAzY-19o-UbUeEbHWKUApVJSDo1uMgbhuOKu0UBAltqn-zcORmLcu-ARI5TznZnPhx07_IGLN49U9hMPntYffaIx5azIci-XDovQ/s1280/560-20-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3-97WczyvPuEBp0uh2ffIGQrlw14omzBOIfWuN-ismyxeUJ2qFmBip_wLWhnvSx4t5cPCkeqJvE3lwvAzY-19o-UbUeEbHWKUApVJSDo1uMgbhuOKu0UBAltqn-zcORmLcu-ARI5TznZnPhx07_IGLN49U9hMPntYffaIx5azIci-XDovQ/w400-h263/560-20-Ajaccio.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ajaccio, harbour</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLuUXJDGxj_TvYtu9cPSyfTQ116N5GPZmCzPvujJ8L3yCG-LZG3j5eIlOZMy0Fuu6On7artjOoKSeF-_gwpV1t_azoMmydodR1CsXp1qd0AUHQsK0rApLXwBWjei7AAXCBgoFyTIppUEGEGoudeHhpfvjRfxa7GFriIGH03Xy0A_M3X7lhw/s1280/560-21-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="839" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLuUXJDGxj_TvYtu9cPSyfTQ116N5GPZmCzPvujJ8L3yCG-LZG3j5eIlOZMy0Fuu6On7artjOoKSeF-_gwpV1t_azoMmydodR1CsXp1qd0AUHQsK0rApLXwBWjei7AAXCBgoFyTIppUEGEGoudeHhpfvjRfxa7GFriIGH03Xy0A_M3X7lhw/w263-h400/560-21-Ajaccio.jpg" width="263" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Vd2vKXOYszPIcRzojwbW2ggsrDdOK2janaatm0mpbmZgkuFQgkLdL6bKcMEpgQweAu0M7jokBEB08ie0llOxRlPI_6bHWw-sKgKy9VMXbuIQj2nMCsRr7iZjaNKDk3MWORIFIZYM-AOkPwLo6px9oi2H0UB-3DsHU-D8bNdxY29LoOCbZg/s1280/560-22-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1280" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Vd2vKXOYszPIcRzojwbW2ggsrDdOK2janaatm0mpbmZgkuFQgkLdL6bKcMEpgQweAu0M7jokBEB08ie0llOxRlPI_6bHWw-sKgKy9VMXbuIQj2nMCsRr7iZjaNKDk3MWORIFIZYM-AOkPwLo6px9oi2H0UB-3DsHU-D8bNdxY29LoOCbZg/w400-h295/560-22-Ajaccio.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ajaccio</span></i><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>, Monument commemoratif de Napoléon Ier</i></span></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Thursday 27 May 1999</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">We are still in Corte - this is our third night here. Last night was much quieter, so we decided to risk staying another night as there was nothing the matter with the hotel room, simply the external noise. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This morning we explored the Gorges de la Restonica, a superb drive along a narrow broken track, passing through chestnut woods which gave way to pines as we went higher up the gorge. All around are the most superb views of the mountains, some lichen-covered and pale green, some bare granite with shrubs and stunted chestnuts maintaining a hold wherever they can, and some with snow still packing the fissures of their northern face. Below, a permanent sound of water as the bright aquamarine river wound its way through the tumbled chaos of granite boulders, glimpsed from time to time through the chestnut trees just coming into leaf. In shady patches beautiful cyclamen were scattered. There were wild lilies, pink wild roses, delicate white blossoms on dark green shrubs. It was all unbelievably beautiful and magnificent. We ate our breakfast sitting amidst the flowers sitting on a little rocky promontory overlooking the woodland in the valley, the tops of the fir trees way below and the river visible as it bubbled between the rocks. All round the mountains rose above us. It was a magical sight in the hot morning sun.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIFX_aQsFuJfosj5zDizk2QyRPa0bwspF2hw2wQ8s5DTpaLXsoyceHJ_Pauq5k_MNfHoly5JJTUyLbhJd8LlC0TCy7MyoKJV1Z7DjgEKu5dKARhy0UT5DSI7y21-TFfUp5l5ZUGfI11zPVZCRH1pHQxqnRBeoQbOh-YuQH9dvHD3jtUS3cQ/s1280/560-23-Restonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIFX_aQsFuJfosj5zDizk2QyRPa0bwspF2hw2wQ8s5DTpaLXsoyceHJ_Pauq5k_MNfHoly5JJTUyLbhJd8LlC0TCy7MyoKJV1Z7DjgEKu5dKARhy0UT5DSI7y21-TFfUp5l5ZUGfI11zPVZCRH1pHQxqnRBeoQbOh-YuQH9dvHD3jtUS3cQ/w400-h263/560-23-Restonica.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Restonica</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_r7z4qQssyfn-VIwbiirh8aS4yryarPBEou6jIG3EH3KMZCchTWWSGYt22yB54fAeaX5XjbnirYTLR4KX-fBe_E17yZJu8m4vBrMD7pUhV7J-cb3tGxZX9IiFT6i7ouBiKIzSBHk2qKTeSiv99u_GUEbvNBeCnsRxddD0_mPZ9T4AKdNeA/s1280/560-24-Restonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_r7z4qQssyfn-VIwbiirh8aS4yryarPBEou6jIG3EH3KMZCchTWWSGYt22yB54fAeaX5XjbnirYTLR4KX-fBe_E17yZJu8m4vBrMD7pUhV7J-cb3tGxZX9IiFT6i7ouBiKIzSBHk2qKTeSiv99u_GUEbvNBeCnsRxddD0_mPZ9T4AKdNeA/w400-h265/560-24-Restonica.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Restonica, Capo al Chiostro (2262 meters)</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhKKwoY8ZO27gXwR9T-hbn0LKYhX7cT2dWBbedxvwDJ5YLooWeQ_yJ3SLkSmgPe4w2f0rjnXqNEY5H9XqeLE8TMVkYWxpm6ZPluemUn97Vqo-2kzydBxY3w1Q04Z8iImIJpjmKj5CaH_ts4JETFTvC-Hr_yZC58x-t5EFrhAh1SrbeIWJ_wg/s1280/560-25-Restonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhKKwoY8ZO27gXwR9T-hbn0LKYhX7cT2dWBbedxvwDJ5YLooWeQ_yJ3SLkSmgPe4w2f0rjnXqNEY5H9XqeLE8TMVkYWxpm6ZPluemUn97Vqo-2kzydBxY3w1Q04Z8iImIJpjmKj5CaH_ts4JETFTvC-Hr_yZC58x-t5EFrhAh1SrbeIWJ_wg/w400-h265/560-25-Restonica.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Restonica, Bergeries de Grotelle</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsKXw_XgLb3x-c_Mf2Y9P12C4Dj6xUAB8eTTZTw9p-OrOuMg27VzlnzcsjIH4Le3_uL2XfMB2LiMRTRT_1WZkOurtWAj9ewWEakiBoEeZN29ujUkBFZFAIKSQ9EG9SO8J4HF7MWyLbF8q_5992MSRleHFHyM1NLaKQ3z-uQ1zooJco5N6Fw/s1280/570-01-Restonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsKXw_XgLb3x-c_Mf2Y9P12C4Dj6xUAB8eTTZTw9p-OrOuMg27VzlnzcsjIH4Le3_uL2XfMB2LiMRTRT_1WZkOurtWAj9ewWEakiBoEeZN29ujUkBFZFAIKSQ9EG9SO8J4HF7MWyLbF8q_5992MSRleHFHyM1NLaKQ3z-uQ1zooJco5N6Fw/w400-h266/570-01-Restonica.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Restonica</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">We made our way to the head of the valley, parked and went on a one hour scramble aiming for the Lac de Mélo, up a difficult tortuous rocky pass over fallen scree and slippery decomposed granite, hopping from rock to rock across crystal streams and waterfalls cascading down the bare rocks. It was too high for trees but scattered wherever a hold could be found there were what appeared to be mauve mountain crocuses, wonderful against the dark bare rock. At certain points along the route thick-stemmed scrubby heathers grew, but generally it was a barren landscape at this level. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">We scrambled and slithered across two small glaciers, stopping only for a quick game of snowballs and to rub the snow over our hot, sticky faces before continuing. Any semblance of a path gave out completely and we scrambled our way upwards following yellow blobs on the rocks from point to point. Ian carried the rucksack as he couldn't bear to be parted from his precious guide books and maps, and with his knees he was worried about how he'd ever get down. Eventually we were reduced to climbing iron rings on the cliff face, at which stage Ian decided he'd had enough. Quite an elderly French lady came slowly down and I asked her if she had made it to the lake. She had, and said that it was fine if you went very carefully, so I decided to go on alone. I'm glad I did, though as I clung to an iron chain dangling from the rocks as the only support up one stretch of bare cliff face, I did wonder whether I was quite mad! Eventually I reached the lake to find that everyone else who had made it that far were Germans and dressed in full climbing gear or carrying alpenstocks. Even at this level 1711 meters (5,614 feet), of which I had climbed about 300 meters (1,000 feet) since leaving the car, there were the little mauve crocuses growing. The lake looked very black and inhospitable. Thick snow covered the mountain slopes on the far side, right down to the water's edge where it was at least one meter thick. Huge blocks of ice bobbed in the lake where it had broken off from the surrounding glaciers. Then came the most difficult bit - getting down. It wasn't as bad as I had feared but was a long, slow progress as I was afraid of slipping. Ian had started back down ahead of me, but I eventually caught up with him. It took about two and a half hours there and back and we really felt a sense of achievement at our relatively advanced age. Fortunately the sun had hazed over at that level, so it was comfortable walking. Lower down, as we reached the car, it was baking hot again. We took our empty water bottles and filled them from the river at the foot of a waterfall. The water was so cold that the bottles had condensation on them. Mountain water doesn't seem to have any taste at all but it's brilliant when you're thirsty. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPKAN2zuc9p64vAI0Py-qlyvDby_-s6k4BYlx0XruNYpQPoq-B_HbHMVkiJePaeyGB7Kon2HbHGN_6LtkAeWS5uXQdS1XANuofOzkRCLEVMX65MU_pgwlL5x4528Ak8-vfG7hgVoI6dM3GO7sOw-tzaOtANOUSW0y3diqrIOMnQ5SEwwIog/s1280/570-02-Restonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPKAN2zuc9p64vAI0Py-qlyvDby_-s6k4BYlx0XruNYpQPoq-B_HbHMVkiJePaeyGB7Kon2HbHGN_6LtkAeWS5uXQdS1XANuofOzkRCLEVMX65MU_pgwlL5x4528Ak8-vfG7hgVoI6dM3GO7sOw-tzaOtANOUSW0y3diqrIOMnQ5SEwwIog/w400-h264/570-02-Restonica.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Restonica, Capo al Chiostro </span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSt6tmz4WUjsdzcKm-snB8gF7Ad7X26S8HqOCxSN2iwYl3CPA45dk_f2G8yw24vu637tHdaryTo518Crax8qWLpy9YAkWaC29j0ZPI8Ar3GOJpwz21QRXE0PEfDiSV0o2JQCgosHVZ1Zeph5GbtBkFZeyvrVA3PsrJLp8_7O_SbcK2VsCs4Q/s1280/570-03-Restonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="838" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSt6tmz4WUjsdzcKm-snB8gF7Ad7X26S8HqOCxSN2iwYl3CPA45dk_f2G8yw24vu637tHdaryTo518Crax8qWLpy9YAkWaC29j0ZPI8Ar3GOJpwz21QRXE0PEfDiSV0o2JQCgosHVZ1Zeph5GbtBkFZeyvrVA3PsrJLp8_7O_SbcK2VsCs4Q/w263-h400/570-03-Restonica.jpg" width="263" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCbgP11gKoicXJF8NwUeMjMR7Tzg5gqrD68ilYjLrxj8CqXCChdCnGc_A0pBN3nmrwRXF9-LmSAfKUDvZriLijBEWuei5-b19SV1E66lFHjg7dRj0zFtOfS2csR-B2YjPJtcaoiPZSSvE07FWLQpt2iLMZFFmLXu8L3zwMOkTI9DffD80mw/s1280/570-04-Restonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1280" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCbgP11gKoicXJF8NwUeMjMR7Tzg5gqrD68ilYjLrxj8CqXCChdCnGc_A0pBN3nmrwRXF9-LmSAfKUDvZriLijBEWuei5-b19SV1E66lFHjg7dRj0zFtOfS2csR-B2YjPJtcaoiPZSSvE07FWLQpt2iLMZFFmLXu8L3zwMOkTI9DffD80mw/w400-h260/570-04-Restonica.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Two mountaineers in the Restonica</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We drove down to Corte again, through the town and on up to Calacuccia, the nearest point we could get to Monte Cinto, at 2,706 meters the highest peak in Corsica, and still covered with snow. The route up was far better than that to the Restonica, but the landscape was very different. There were very few trees here, and no flowers, a very bleak inhospitable landscape, the road twisting around the rock face where it had been blasted out to engineer the route. Up at the top, we found ourselves looking down from the head of a barrage onto a large reservoir. We drove up into Calcuccia where at least a dozen pigs were foraging in the only street and several large weary dogs trotted over to greet us before wandering off again to find a corner to snooze, usually in the gutter. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here we went to the village shop and bought some apples, tomatoes and a few things for supper. We also bought biscuits made from chestnut flour to take home as presents. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KmuWBsY-i6MVsg5zrxSE7CmYGfFeJbNFFfk3_8n7o5nwsKz1UWz8mQ2FnE7yr3CUnb4svfAOm86FK98_8fuwITSnRd1IyhFVwN9CYOAZKv2wVafqCKwjFxpHqM1v7Vc5YXi-ODx6P-KjPJdhYZc7yPayB4hy8lkVnIe-5a9fWW0re1eprQ/s1280/570-05-Calacuccia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KmuWBsY-i6MVsg5zrxSE7CmYGfFeJbNFFfk3_8n7o5nwsKz1UWz8mQ2FnE7yr3CUnb4svfAOm86FK98_8fuwITSnRd1IyhFVwN9CYOAZKv2wVafqCKwjFxpHqM1v7Vc5YXi-ODx6P-KjPJdhYZc7yPayB4hy8lkVnIe-5a9fWW0re1eprQ/w400-h268/570-05-Calacuccia.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Calacuccia and Monte Cinto (2706 meters)</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hbRvUyBSyDVff55B34tnuzilNa2g4s-uFlKIN6TMHIqduLhjRjdosG9SYdrFjaZZfZYykpkL3fCZPwDdnGuCQEHBjWDsOxKsqxP89BSu2upnnvf7XyvdJ-huiNg0Mrq8zLc3cvPC9VXJwbG_hDpMS0rX-WvEIGl1dwRcF3i9il-YgpLSSg/s1280/570-06-Scala-Sta-Regina.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1280" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hbRvUyBSyDVff55B34tnuzilNa2g4s-uFlKIN6TMHIqduLhjRjdosG9SYdrFjaZZfZYykpkL3fCZPwDdnGuCQEHBjWDsOxKsqxP89BSu2upnnvf7XyvdJ-huiNg0Mrq8zLc3cvPC9VXJwbG_hDpMS0rX-WvEIGl1dwRcF3i9il-YgpLSSg/w400-h270/570-06-Scala-Sta-Regina.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Driving along the Scala di Sta Regina</span></i></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Then we drove all the way down again, back into Corte, where we had supper in our room accompanied with the excellent Corsican beer. [...] Afterwards we climbed up the dimly lit cobbled streets to the old town and sat at a table outside a little bar in the warm, dark evening, drinking the health of a baby [recently born to a friend's daughter] in yet more Corsican beer, while we watched the peculiar night-time activities of the many wild cats in the old citadel of Corte. Then back to our room for the last night here.</span></p></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">
1. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-1-bastia-to-porto.html">Bastia to Porto</a>.<br />
2. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-2-porto-to-zonza.html">Porto to Zonza</a>.<br />
3. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-3-zonza-to-corte.html">Zonza to Corte</a>.<br />
4. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-4-corte-to-bastia.html">Corte to Bastia</a>.</span><br />
Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-31217922980366720972022-09-14T10:40:00.004+01:002022-09-19T18:18:48.927+01:00Corsica 1999. 2: Porto to Zonza<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Corsica : a tour in May 1999</span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-1-bastia-to-porto.html">Bastia to Porto</a>.<br />2. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-2-porto-to-zonza.html">Porto to Zonza</a>.<br />3. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-3-zonza-to-corte.html">Zonza to Corte</a>.<br />4. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-4-corte-to-bastia.html">Corte to Bastia</a>.<br />
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Part 2. Porto to Zonza</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Thursday 20 May 1999</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We are now in Bottacina, near Ajaccio, and life is feeling just a little surreal at the moment. It is probably a combination of the many things we have done and the many wines we have tasted since our arrival only four days ago.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Last night we spent in an excellent hotel in Porto, a little resort we had enjoyed greatly. During the night, which had started hot and sticky, a thunderstorm broke and we were awoken several times as the thunder echoed around the enormous rose granite crags towering above our little hotel down in the valley.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">By the time we were organised and ready to depart, it was 9.30 and pouring with rain. We went to the little supermarket to stock up with salad stuff, Corsican wine, bread, fruit, chocolate, etc., and set off along the steep ascent out of Porto towards Les Calanches, where we parked by the Tête de Chien and walked out along a rough, slippery footpath, through the woods to a fort on the headland, where we could look back at Les Calanches from the seaward side, and across the blue bay to Porto and the little harbour we visited last night. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn0eNv61rQUsXbI4tuGnBNutIkQDdB9g0x5Zl3RERv73nXprrLVqPwXEEriUw2KQIa_kIs7X2Ac0N0IWZhVSuHH2IW8AY4Brq2Yf4SXznjlqbGrjU0DCBJAaG4dfx7fxlPvO0FcJm8pDS5G8sOd6oPk-eNzLdSJoVT0q5G3lSzfgWSe1U_g/s1280/540-26-Calanche.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn0eNv61rQUsXbI4tuGnBNutIkQDdB9g0x5Zl3RERv73nXprrLVqPwXEEriUw2KQIa_kIs7X2Ac0N0IWZhVSuHH2IW8AY4Brq2Yf4SXznjlqbGrjU0DCBJAaG4dfx7fxlPvO0FcJm8pDS5G8sOd6oPk-eNzLdSJoVT0q5G3lSzfgWSe1U_g/w400-h259/540-26-Calanche.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Calanches, with road cut along cliff</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNa0ZVzeMRsXJWFG8Flf7RSdZC0ckd4FgAL8p-rxg7YnFVGbdJLL0Tgzc5Iq1xm-ZSaZwq5gx0NSSkBW-gKWGZDWmlJwaoVvD5aBR8y0ijbtdvfjGKYP8_HHFVkEq6sXlqOr6HwgCmKWJ00FlqemqpsXEVllX40H0ErO1GhqrNYpDYJa_OQ/s1280/540-27-Calanche.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1280" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNa0ZVzeMRsXJWFG8Flf7RSdZC0ckd4FgAL8p-rxg7YnFVGbdJLL0Tgzc5Iq1xm-ZSaZwq5gx0NSSkBW-gKWGZDWmlJwaoVvD5aBR8y0ijbtdvfjGKYP8_HHFVkEq6sXlqOr6HwgCmKWJ00FlqemqpsXEVllX40H0ErO1GhqrNYpDYJa_OQ/w400-h260/540-27-Calanche.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Calanches, view south</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTShlgyL0R-o3vFTrdnkI24VNrzeTUwZ9g0S1UNQ1RGWfqZAVJ5Pf8Eh5TP7Ia9ZwitPehLJWz2TYQ77JFlCoyhD9T3cBRW5O5ZxN6auCtJYM98_6Nt8P2jLtwKVxOYiNZv912HFjPEkPKTUctQpWqwtd7CSi5UJDiObN9ltTqXJbVxXrfAw/s1280/540-28-Calanche.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="851" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTShlgyL0R-o3vFTrdnkI24VNrzeTUwZ9g0S1UNQ1RGWfqZAVJ5Pf8Eh5TP7Ia9ZwitPehLJWz2TYQ77JFlCoyhD9T3cBRW5O5ZxN6auCtJYM98_6Nt8P2jLtwKVxOYiNZv912HFjPEkPKTUctQpWqwtd7CSi5UJDiObN9ltTqXJbVxXrfAw/w266-h400/540-28-Calanche.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Calanches</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJ2Bw_UJiGqkq7q4bAfqTRX25vJlPlnQeKTgxKOtxf-VBPt9Tu5DJoIQhOXMWr8E410u-EPcNg3I044Yt3cK7lxP2bbCgxo229B_Y6_48pBa4huQGWNtdKAXNeg-VtL95kkey2Iy73MhakcK0Mgb0x8GlSlN9g174BRiBQ5aDq7wmZilkcg/s1280/540-29-Calanche-toward-Porto.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1280" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJ2Bw_UJiGqkq7q4bAfqTRX25vJlPlnQeKTgxKOtxf-VBPt9Tu5DJoIQhOXMWr8E410u-EPcNg3I044Yt3cK7lxP2bbCgxo229B_Y6_48pBa4huQGWNtdKAXNeg-VtL95kkey2Iy73MhakcK0Mgb0x8GlSlN9g174BRiBQ5aDq7wmZilkcg/w400-h261/540-29-Calanche-toward-Porto.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Calanches, view toward Porto</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Les Calanches are a huge outcrop of pink porphyritic granite, weathered by ages into weird and mysterious shapes on a gargantuan scale with the beautiful Mediterranean as a backdrop. From the clifftop fort, we could look back and see our road as nothing more than the slash of a scar on the face of the cliffs. It is the only route southwards, so all the traffic has to negotiate the narrow route on what must be one of Europe's most beautiful main roads - and one of the narrowest and most twisting.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEh3b9xaQ70M0w0CSsFEJLSE31Sper7BWjOG2O6CGbXC9zOiaaJoz3Qo6jd-uo4qJOwVLX0nh82VL1fZH9JFMdmlQ9FTc_BdVaQvZXgfBgu8jINMF8BMBUcX0k1B5t_DWA0o70SFrtfDx2-xYpgF5uNOd8W9F26hKoB6E2Y0QTecsx95y_g/s1280/540-30-Calanche-Chateau-Fort.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="1280" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEh3b9xaQ70M0w0CSsFEJLSE31Sper7BWjOG2O6CGbXC9zOiaaJoz3Qo6jd-uo4qJOwVLX0nh82VL1fZH9JFMdmlQ9FTc_BdVaQvZXgfBgu8jINMF8BMBUcX0k1B5t_DWA0o70SFrtfDx2-xYpgF5uNOd8W9F26hKoB6E2Y0QTecsx95y_g/w400-h260/540-30-Calanche-Chateau-Fort.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Calanches, road from Château Fort</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjV4PT_ITnUtPMwHYVoXbhWbhTLye1hV41-N_6uHLy-4SqjC5h0S9HAeDrqY6U8JE8EzceQFJCZFL8zUpQ0wmXeFgLgbN43_Jrqxlxb89cRC4B2Emwtz2KuEYTDhlsHWLfOI00L5yk2Eea4ykeeULTsyI7acotnDH8eTlE2eGhKdxDluJojQ/s1280/540-31-Chateau-Fort.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="1280" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjV4PT_ITnUtPMwHYVoXbhWbhTLye1hV41-N_6uHLy-4SqjC5h0S9HAeDrqY6U8JE8EzceQFJCZFL8zUpQ0wmXeFgLgbN43_Jrqxlxb89cRC4B2Emwtz2KuEYTDhlsHWLfOI00L5yk2Eea4ykeeULTsyI7acotnDH8eTlE2eGhKdxDluJojQ/w400-h254/540-31-Chateau-Fort.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Calanches, Château Fort (332 meters)</i> </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzN7uFXw-5iaUFh2YPiivnciZAHwzIC8vZAyX3TIkmA7CKuqwaHlo4lknPVmxljd5cfD3i2JbMgopaeOOGV37S-7MYQyCjAv6RooYb5GTWGVWuxCTU9Cbum6pjw5XjWpAYGbtCc4sSUvipYVR0srxenbG9jeHQzBTxz2nL-vqfsttdALTCA/s1280/540-32-Calanches.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="1280" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzN7uFXw-5iaUFh2YPiivnciZAHwzIC8vZAyX3TIkmA7CKuqwaHlo4lknPVmxljd5cfD3i2JbMgopaeOOGV37S-7MYQyCjAv6RooYb5GTWGVWuxCTU9Cbum6pjw5XjWpAYGbtCc4sSUvipYVR0srxenbG9jeHQzBTxz2nL-vqfsttdALTCA/w400-h228/540-32-Calanches.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Calanches, wildlife</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;">We arrived at Piana about lunchtime. The rain had long since stopped, and the sun was bright and warm. Piana proved to be a very agreeable little town; not a lot in the centre, mostly bars and restaurants where everyone stopped to drink or take a coffee </span><span style="font-family: times;">on a terrace</span><span style="font-family: times;">. We wandered around the village back streets, full, as most of the villages here are, of dogs, tiny black cats, geraniums, cactuses, and lines of washing. Elderly ladies, dressed in black, sat outside their homes in the sunshine and smiled as we passed - all very friendly. We picnicked near the car and then continued to Cargese, where apparently the local people speak a Greek variant of the Corse language. The town was settled in 1774 by Greeks who had fled the repression of the Ottoman Empire, and had been hounded from place to place in Corsica. Two churches in a restrained baroque style face each other across a small dip filled with vegetable gardens. The Greek church has an iconostasis filled with images and with paintings in the medieval Greek style. The Roman Catholic church has elaborate wall paintings in a trompe l'oeil style. The rest of the town is strung in parallel shaded streets, linked by steps across the slope above the harbour. A green, sleepy place, hardly the sort of centre for our daughter Kate, should she find work in the Club Mediterranée just a couple of miles to the north. We stopped for a drink and watched workmen attempting to install a tannoy system in the trees, their legs dangling out of the pollarded branches and with sudden bursts of Corsican song blasting forth. They seemed to make very little progress while we watched, largely because one man seemed to have broken his hammer.</span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We continued along the coast road, the scenery pleasant but less spectacular than previously, and then climbed over a ridge to see the Golfe d'Ajaccio before us. A string of roundabouts, linked by poorly maintained roads and lined by the usual warehouses, brought us into the hooting, snarling chaos of he rush hour in Ajaccio. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">The population of Corsica is 250,000 of which 60,000 live in Ajaccio</span><span style="font-family: times;">, and all of them seemed to be</span><span style="font-family: times;"> on the move, or rather jammed solid. Eventually we found a parking space by the quay, and wandered around the town, waiting for the traffic to ease. It seemed a lively place; palm-lined squares with statues and a bustling port with huge ferries loading. A strange drum band of a dozen people, dressed in grey and white with helmets, like a cross between medieval knights and Star Wars figures, made their way along the streets with jerky automata-like movements and a terrific din, followed by a group of enthusiastic children and regarded with a mixture of puzzlement and amusement by the shopkeepers and pedestrians. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmywibw9bmdTWx_-jK_QHOgum79Ii8MqkJhY33WD08UF4WD3bbr-zgCCImPNZbNgGzNqsQKIf7AJleAEF7Tu7P0Ed9FcSwCGBYHfTgcqZBVVg5iRoeJsL_S4aaWbgsLrr7Z-8rIaNDt4lbY7zX4jC8iC1Fap2fc60thNm2HpXfPJwG5Zpsg/s1280/540-34-Ajaccio-Dadadang.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmywibw9bmdTWx_-jK_QHOgum79Ii8MqkJhY33WD08UF4WD3bbr-zgCCImPNZbNgGzNqsQKIf7AJleAEF7Tu7P0Ed9FcSwCGBYHfTgcqZBVVg5iRoeJsL_S4aaWbgsLrr7Z-8rIaNDt4lbY7zX4jC8iC1Fap2fc60thNm2HpXfPJwG5Zpsg/w400-h300/540-34-Ajaccio-Dadadang.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ajaccio, Dadadang (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M0BD4KAoEo">promotion video 2015</a>)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><span>We found the tourist information that advised us that hotels out of the centre might be better so, returning to our car, we made our way east along dual carriageways, past the airport to Bastelicaccia, a village straggling along the road with two motels set in exotic gardens full of cactuses. Both were full but the receptionist at the second referred us to the Hameaux de Bottacina, set on a hillside a couple of miles along a narrow, winding country lane.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5BP1btofUT5c36QE7Xeoq0mP2_CtCk_Y5aeGg0SEsjwWxGau8-BVO3QqLbrBPD6GPYo6FgFxcfBToR-cZOIEnekHgZbBN5U55yeSmQu_ogE8P44WEvLW-6DYzL1F0r3TM9qcgik8t1Z8ynyOEaI2cWula1ez8ZXEIo0Qf9LkPvE-1XWFLg/s1280/540-35-Bottacina.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5BP1btofUT5c36QE7Xeoq0mP2_CtCk_Y5aeGg0SEsjwWxGau8-BVO3QqLbrBPD6GPYo6FgFxcfBToR-cZOIEnekHgZbBN5U55yeSmQu_ogE8P44WEvLW-6DYzL1F0r3TM9qcgik8t1Z8ynyOEaI2cWula1ez8ZXEIo0Qf9LkPvE-1XWFLg/w400-h263/540-35-Bottacina.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Bottacina, view toward Ajaccio</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40yf0SQ4wSvl4upM7BGuqCRdXFHJgY5LKBLMD0fwqX62QQF4x0LJC2ON4sWje79E0Ejx6HpoGQY-Co-diFr4GKc8CxndHfnSBnH_d-NTXd2wcdHKEC5lKj1MtW2PuxS9jdUo91-owtLVLemiNEfh3_s_mudmwI63_Vpsjx_F4u4taYmzuEg/s1280/540-36-Bottacina.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="1280" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40yf0SQ4wSvl4upM7BGuqCRdXFHJgY5LKBLMD0fwqX62QQF4x0LJC2ON4sWje79E0Ejx6HpoGQY-Co-diFr4GKc8CxndHfnSBnH_d-NTXd2wcdHKEC5lKj1MtW2PuxS9jdUo91-owtLVLemiNEfh3_s_mudmwI63_Vpsjx_F4u4taYmzuEg/s320/540-36-Bottacina.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Hameaux de Bottacina</span></i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>Friday 21 May, 1999</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ian's just called me. On our terrace there are three horses, a mother, a father and a three week old foal. They had trotted up from the steep field below us because, inevitably, the grass here will be more succulent than in their own field. </span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEetAWhKGBKXM49BgV_3vSHbsqzB76FwBYGqCVXcGK173mFOupl2wvL2PuYG40egTRnVW-jhH6G7xDSLMNHxI31Ugnnr3t7loVSgcHhEwzfvWCeXwWsan9q9RJOAfaufUf9mJAmpXm79q-Pvo565KkwX8MbPPiTlJ301-GaCpPloxUGKdLrQ/s1280/550-00-Bottacina.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="1280" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEetAWhKGBKXM49BgV_3vSHbsqzB76FwBYGqCVXcGK173mFOupl2wvL2PuYG40egTRnVW-jhH6G7xDSLMNHxI31Ugnnr3t7loVSgcHhEwzfvWCeXwWsan9q9RJOAfaufUf9mJAmpXm79q-Pvo565KkwX8MbPPiTlJ301-GaCpPloxUGKdLrQ/w400-h275/550-00-Bottacina.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFL5l-RK77OMU0XqSDhI33qd5EZ_ohZyDnIK5VCuLOLn-dw0JqOjQoR5pc06BzQnc0s5tZqDIyuPXY8XrD8YDyQrJXtVNPS6CvO9VCZqDbocQxRjzbQFTFeSZm-B0jR00hADnb0lXXguLKeoFryPjdxU65JS3pr90IwdnRUBCkGUmPHVOn2g/s1280/550-01-Bottacina.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="1280" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFL5l-RK77OMU0XqSDhI33qd5EZ_ohZyDnIK5VCuLOLn-dw0JqOjQoR5pc06BzQnc0s5tZqDIyuPXY8XrD8YDyQrJXtVNPS6CvO9VCZqDbocQxRjzbQFTFeSZm-B0jR00hADnb0lXXguLKeoFryPjdxU65JS3pr90IwdnRUBCkGUmPHVOn2g/w400-h276/550-01-Bottacina.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Bottacina, horses in field below apartment</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The cottage or hameau is set in a verdant garden full of exotic plants - palms, cactuses, fruit trees, orange trees and many more, including flowering geraniums.There are sheep with curly horns, terrapins, exotic caged birds and a friendly dog. The place is run by a very friendly family who even suggested that we did her daughter's English homework for her. We have our own kitchen, bathroom, shower, loo and a double bedroom. Wooden shutters keep out the sun's heat, except, specially for us, it is now raining. We have a little terrace with table and chairs where we sat last night with a bottle of wine and a bag of pistachio nuts, watching the sun set behind the hills on the far side of the valley, beyond the little fields and the plain of Ajaccio where we have an excellent view of the airstrip, so could watch the planes landing and taking off along the floodlit runway in the gathering dusk about 9 pm. There are very few planes and they seem scheduled to arrive and leave about the same time. Certainly the peace of the night was not spoiled by them and it was interesting to watch them circle in from the sea to land, or roar off down the runway, straight out across the bay of Ajaccio. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It seemed incongruous waking this morning to the sound of a cuckoo and bleating sheep, and looking down onto the silent town and airport from our panoramic vantage point. All around birds sang, the vegetation is lush and verdant and the rain fell from a grey sky with mist obscuring the surrounding hills. We finished the rest of our provisions, apple juice and biscottes, played with the horses and drove to the outskirts of Ajaccio - after my experience yesterday in the rush hour I have no desire to drive through the centre again! We walked in through the rain, which had now stopped, and we are sitting on the terrace of one of the very many cafes, bars and restaurants - le Bar du Premier Consul in the rue Bonaparte beside la Fontaine des Quatre Lions in the place Foch. There is a huge canopy overhead, unnecessary today, but vital in high summer. The buildings here are old but in good repair, five storeys high, plastered in whites, yellows, pale greens and pinks with grey wooden shutters. All along the streets are tall, fern-like palm trees on sturdy straight trunks that reach up to the top storeys of the buildings and spread their foliage across the streets. They give so much shade and greenery and are quite delightful. The fountain is playing with white water splashing and cascading down while the stone lions sleep beneath the spray. The Place is surrounded by a neatly trimmed privet hedge and stone troughs containing small shrubs, ferns and flowers surround this terrace. Across the street Ian is selecting postcards. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy72QVsmnrIyE8uheOOj_W995K0kTuYftase4tM8dumqWbXHYlLUs96xoEbUb7HiAlOuI4MGhcE066OiRJmCrMamNtfH46iG292Iz7Gk1C4tqPcS_1lw-0mXF5_K2KJxePFeQGKOH-7lfu4BczqbhHIyrR1oUrYw6AFUDlJxkApt0lmHAaUA/s1280/550-02-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy72QVsmnrIyE8uheOOj_W995K0kTuYftase4tM8dumqWbXHYlLUs96xoEbUb7HiAlOuI4MGhcE066OiRJmCrMamNtfH46iG292Iz7Gk1C4tqPcS_1lw-0mXF5_K2KJxePFeQGKOH-7lfu4BczqbhHIyrR1oUrYw6AFUDlJxkApt0lmHAaUA/w400-h266/550-02-Ajaccio.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ajaccio, street lined with palm trees</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0cgBpC8_oZ6zyw3cLQJIG5MXIXmTOIN4ohLD3zsn8JaZeY6mkmYUXxPVFtefmOOjWq4smHguPY0OXXvITjp-oZkqPOYN4aaElYdNbCMiX0IT57BrGkRL1VQUi-ZKKBbWUfNWve_61kBurYSaRjqXaMfB4kefyCCeZWrGtHgKMDpHz7FOGiw/s1280/550-03-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1280" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0cgBpC8_oZ6zyw3cLQJIG5MXIXmTOIN4ohLD3zsn8JaZeY6mkmYUXxPVFtefmOOjWq4smHguPY0OXXvITjp-oZkqPOYN4aaElYdNbCMiX0IT57BrGkRL1VQUi-ZKKBbWUfNWve_61kBurYSaRjqXaMfB4kefyCCeZWrGtHgKMDpHz7FOGiw/w400-h260/550-03-Ajaccio.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ajaccio, equestrian statue of Napoléon surrounded by his four brothers</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-j1a9gQ2D7zC9luUXLM8oqV4U5LayuPJ1M7OEC7lodXqcmiSA33wQH9Q-54WEkjOgi567UKWtWI3seEn4FKVVuHPs0hWTlQnyxtA1SnLJ8pZdyjn3TpeIyvoI1ZdgSqujuHTJTSEE89cA06BFkEUzImAQNJANDtuOeT0JT4Cg9qTsqCoWA/s1280/550-04-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-j1a9gQ2D7zC9luUXLM8oqV4U5LayuPJ1M7OEC7lodXqcmiSA33wQH9Q-54WEkjOgi567UKWtWI3seEn4FKVVuHPs0hWTlQnyxtA1SnLJ8pZdyjn3TpeIyvoI1ZdgSqujuHTJTSEE89cA06BFkEUzImAQNJANDtuOeT0JT4Cg9qTsqCoWA/w400-h263/550-04-Ajaccio.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><i>Ajaccio, Fontaine des Quatre Lions</i></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We have now gone round the corner and I'm sitting in a tiny garden outside la Maison Natale de Napoléon. It is a quiet corner with few people around. At the moment the house is closed for lunch. It is a four-storey pale orange building with grey shutters. The little garden has orange trees covered in fruit, an enormous spiky cactus, a scarlet hibiscus fanning the wall behind me and a couple of pineapple ferny palm trees. The pathway is part sanded and part laid out in decorative pebbles, and the whole garden is surrounded by wrought iron railings. In the centre is a small bust, head and shoulders; it is of the young king of Rome, Napoléon's son. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3e4XGPYRp8h7-MPsWzlbEdeaHzGYE68-CZYU1yuSnm6gxrzdCrNfZxzSl-o4cQ1w7WNl8YkQ7wf-FnROKegdwPsbTpG8z59lKQHqOIYPIaMmD1hXyQUFtgvkm6fOF4lWSGrJRKSUIXLmZeOib1r7EgKjENorqosiOZbtFril-J7RpnZVsxg/s1280/550-05-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="847" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3e4XGPYRp8h7-MPsWzlbEdeaHzGYE68-CZYU1yuSnm6gxrzdCrNfZxzSl-o4cQ1w7WNl8YkQ7wf-FnROKegdwPsbTpG8z59lKQHqOIYPIaMmD1hXyQUFtgvkm6fOF4lWSGrJRKSUIXLmZeOib1r7EgKjENorqosiOZbtFril-J7RpnZVsxg/w265-h400/550-05-Ajaccio.jpg" width="265" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ajaccio, Maison Bonaparte</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKTq9rO8coPSOsYc_3zBknb9prfOBINks9WG4EHcUrcnKetAVBQTKDHjivVFJrWHHE3BL9l4vMqTwmUCVHsS0h_RaPw4ady3szoHRkT5ZePAu4SVtkSGOyM2xCjPJQlsG4IcwW6Wz3Gs_VFnwwMp6KmqSvy3tNzv8IhoxgTy3s8uAsSRoPIw/s1280/550-06-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="828" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKTq9rO8coPSOsYc_3zBknb9prfOBINks9WG4EHcUrcnKetAVBQTKDHjivVFJrWHHE3BL9l4vMqTwmUCVHsS0h_RaPw4ady3szoHRkT5ZePAu4SVtkSGOyM2xCjPJQlsG4IcwW6Wz3Gs_VFnwwMp6KmqSvy3tNzv8IhoxgTy3s8uAsSRoPIw/w259-h400/550-06-Ajaccio.jpg" width="259" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ajaccio, Maison Bonaparte</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ian is very excited to be here and says it's a kind of pilgrimage as Napoléon has dogged his life over the past quarter of a century, what with organising and managing the Heber Mardon collection of Napoléana in the Westcountry Studies Library, and mounting the controversial exhibition in Caen <i>Boney, ou Napoléon vu par les anglais</i>. He has several French language copies of the catalogue of this exhibition in his luggage and plans to give one to the museum this afternoon.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGzPr740uNHza5gfETbbr4GXV9fxVa5SjKPzmjd8eUpuiEcMfU7ihuZgj0qIXL_YOJDqqhXI-CJuVPRT3y3jDEyDBXONc3O0EScExOt1dpDBkiAz2uofgnuHss71ZbtoD5r7W5J6eeSwMHNbn3oRTbejGXP9bB5FqrvB87fMPvR7NRR_FoA/s1169/Boney-cover-French.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1169" data-original-width="840" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGzPr740uNHza5gfETbbr4GXV9fxVa5SjKPzmjd8eUpuiEcMfU7ihuZgj0qIXL_YOJDqqhXI-CJuVPRT3y3jDEyDBXONc3O0EScExOt1dpDBkiAz2uofgnuHss71ZbtoD5r7W5J6eeSwMHNbn3oRTbejGXP9bB5FqrvB87fMPvR7NRR_FoA/w288-h400/Boney-cover-French.jpg" width="288" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Boney, ou Napoléon vu par les anglais, exhibition catalogue, 1985</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Saturday 22 May, 1999</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Whilst waiting for the museum to open at 2 pm, we explored the town further, climbing up to the citadel, which turned out to be a military one, not open to the public. We discovered a little restaurant in the town with a pleasant atmosphere and several years of Routard awards displayed outside. Its set menu looked good value but on entering a very vague, surly old man waved us to any old table and disappeared, leaving us in total silence for ages. Having gazed at the shell-covered walls with maps of Corsica also picked out in shells, with large mussel shells in the centre for the mountain ranges, we decided to leave. There was no sign of anyone willing to serve and at this rate the museum would have closed for the evening before we even got there. So, out into the rain and a sploshy walk to Monoprix, where we purchased a couple of onion and sausage fougasses which we ate under the huge palm tree on the square outside the <span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">Hôtel de Ville,</span> looked down upon by Napoléon on his plinth in the centre of the Lions Fountain. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We then entered the <span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">Hôtel de Ville</span> to see the two rooms of Napoléana on display, only to be told it was "fermé exceptionellement". How had word reached them of our arrival? We did the hard sell and eventually persuaded them to let us in free to look at the prints, busts, medals etc - not long enough but at least it avoided our total frustration and kept us dry. Ian offered one of his catalogues for the town collections, and was met with blank astonishment - what would they want that for? They had no use for such things. If we really wanted to get rid of it, try the public library. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">Feeling deflated, we returned to </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon's </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">birthplace, which was now open. The staff there were very pleasant, but equally nonplussed by our gesture of generosity which made us feel even more deflated. They finally did accept a copy of the catalogue, promising to ask the archivist/curator if it was worth keeping when he arrived at the end of the month. We got the distinct impression that there is only one archivist/librarian for the entire island. Certainly any staff we met knew how to sell tickets, give change for postcards and work the photocopiers, but little else. In France professional staff in libraries are often designated as "conservateurs" and they are very thin on the ground. The staff did give us a handful of postcards, specially stamped with the name of the Museum, as a token of thanks and the Museum itself, simply laid out, was very pleasant. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">We gazed in awe at the sedan chair in which </span></span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon's mother Letitia Ramolino had been returned to the house at a run when she went into labour in the middle of mass at the family church. There was a severe risk that, with all the jolting </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon's main claim to fame would have been that he was the only emperor in the world to have been born in a sedan chair, but she made it up to the first floor, and a reproduction couch bears witness to the fact that she never made it to the bedroom - the original appears to have been stolen. As this is where </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon began his route to fame, we sent a postcard to our nephew Daniel in Brussels, as he is really interested in </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon and goes regularly to the battlefield of Waterloo to see where his imperial career ended.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">The building is very</span><span style="font-family: times;"> simple, painted panels, bare floorboards, an amazing contrast to Versailles, just a bourgeois home in a Corsican town. There were pictures and artifacts about the whole family including the Bonaparte descendants. Most items had labels saying that they had been donated by their Imperial Highnesses the Prince and Princess </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon in 1997. It would appear that Louis, Prince </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon VI died in that year, and his son Charles, Prince </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon VII donated them to the Museum. There is some dispute about who is the actual claimant to the French imperial throne as, under the term of </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon VI's will, the title passed directly to his grandson Jean-Christophe. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: times;">We made our way to the <span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: left;">Bibliothèque Municipale (or as many Corsicans would call it the Bibbiuteca Municipali) in the Rue Cardinal Fesch which opens straight onto the road next to the Musée Cardinal Fesch. We edged our way gingerly past the two large copulating dogs in the entrance, which </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: times; text-align: left;">were</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: times; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: times; text-align: left;">disapprovingly watched by two plaster lions, moulded from the originals by the sculptor Canova on the tomb of Pope Clement XII at St Peter's in Rome, and found ourselves in a magnificent room, shelved from floor to ceiling with old brown leather-bound volumes, with huge stepladders to reach those up near the ceiling. There were a couple of catalogues, one for the </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon collection and one for the general library, built up from libraries confiscated from monasteries during the French Revolution and also from the personal collection of </span></span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon's uncle </span><span style="font-family: times;">Cardinal Joseph Fesch (1763-1839) and others. There was nobody around, and we explored the room unobserved. We could have walked out </span><span style="font-family: times;">undetected </span><span style="font-family: times;">with anything - we were convinced there was no security system. There was a door at the far end, so we went through, searching for a member of staff. In that area there was a small collection of general modern material and a photocopier. A pleasant woman told us that it was a private area, and we explained that we wanted to give a book to the </span><span style="font-family: times;">collection. She agreed to take it to give to the conservateur to decide whether it was worth keeping - we felt deflated once again. At neither place did they ask who we were so that they could acknowledge the gift, or in case the conservateur wished to make contact. It all seems so introspective.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSpUcQR_5W6cEfFzc1l-YpsTxlDirnwBi-Jt5AKpq0Nj-Ct2OCN6tb_TuSNZOmPRB3WXlqIeNtH-_ealnlv-qdrrRMhIptnNMMqAxEixVMlDz874JwRxEtmyKQ9A1k3ctrsyyVA42EWDIvoJFIXT1A46SVhCbUBGkVN_vrwQJZ3nKpl8MzHw/s1280/550-09-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSpUcQR_5W6cEfFzc1l-YpsTxlDirnwBi-Jt5AKpq0Nj-Ct2OCN6tb_TuSNZOmPRB3WXlqIeNtH-_ealnlv-qdrrRMhIptnNMMqAxEixVMlDz874JwRxEtmyKQ9A1k3ctrsyyVA42EWDIvoJFIXT1A46SVhCbUBGkVN_vrwQJZ3nKpl8MzHw/w400-h263/550-09-Ajaccio.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipDUpNE0P262YAP5BlFQXdyB2fr239WZCh2YFXdfGY7a5SQaNZ-SAl4ehkb4lGuBQaS26YrWABmzTNFWXXO1ME87R5f0dMN14EJf--tacoRVIKHVpCqG_qwj7MLuoAZXmDGAJcZ7SecWGI3eOBpIWAHXiyt6vYZveAeEN21z2hX9tq01wtdg/s1280/550-10-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipDUpNE0P262YAP5BlFQXdyB2fr239WZCh2YFXdfGY7a5SQaNZ-SAl4ehkb4lGuBQaS26YrWABmzTNFWXXO1ME87R5f0dMN14EJf--tacoRVIKHVpCqG_qwj7MLuoAZXmDGAJcZ7SecWGI3eOBpIWAHXiyt6vYZveAeEN21z2hX9tq01wtdg/w400-h264/550-10-Ajaccio.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ajaccio, Bibliothèque Municipale</span></i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">Returning past the dogs, still busily enjoying each other among the rare books, we went to the nearby chapel where the members of </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon's family are all buried - the man himself lies of course in Les Invalides in Paris. His mother has the most amazing Latin inscription on her tomb: "mother of kings". Indeed she was; self-appointed kings it's true, but </span><span style="font-family: times;">Napoléon made his siblings monarchs of half of Europe. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWdG9_z84fFBNkTeWMBvBj4fL8HUmTzVjKxIDrlwpajhO8xPyicziUA-yGMCjgrojId0kEe6XBwqyYmCPuTbpz8VXHhtQsimhkHFpPkqgzrAbRevQQpuLTZy409ZULCVPgeIUCcrLpQr1oF2vQ08O5CMRx4xoZZaJqzY3OdcZpZtbvp8dhg/s1280/550-11-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWdG9_z84fFBNkTeWMBvBj4fL8HUmTzVjKxIDrlwpajhO8xPyicziUA-yGMCjgrojId0kEe6XBwqyYmCPuTbpz8VXHhtQsimhkHFpPkqgzrAbRevQQpuLTZy409ZULCVPgeIUCcrLpQr1oF2vQ08O5CMRx4xoZZaJqzY3OdcZpZtbvp8dhg/w400-h264/550-11-Ajaccio.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ajaccio, Chapelle Impériale</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6Zh2R6cTmN5RVMGhv90oALHVYb-cfbTKYwz4mwA2W74BJV6_hKrOWbGABnt3BYCzrPccVX3Cwq0zf1xyFgevCzIQPJGA3tLbp5c40YloisKwH2la90aYdzUoadD_TyAmJKQEMxRW0Hm734SKLOC7YGWfKGYKLiTKKqeQQVRVuZCRpr7dkQ/s1280/550-07-Ajaccio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="852" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6Zh2R6cTmN5RVMGhv90oALHVYb-cfbTKYwz4mwA2W74BJV6_hKrOWbGABnt3BYCzrPccVX3Cwq0zf1xyFgevCzIQPJGA3tLbp5c40YloisKwH2la90aYdzUoadD_TyAmJKQEMxRW0Hm734SKLOC7YGWfKGYKLiTKKqeQQVRVuZCRpr7dkQ/w266-h400/550-07-Ajaccio.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ajaccio, Musée Fesch</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Jérôme Bonaparte, king of Westphalia, sculpture by Joseph Bosio, 1812</span></i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We then made our way back through the town, stopping to look at the railway station and pick up a timetable as we are convinced that a railway trip through the mountains is a must. We collected some food shopping and cleared the dust of Ajaccio from our heels. By the way, there are no public toilets in the whole of Corsica. One either uses the maquis, or faces the stares of the unemployed smokers outside the bars as you scuttle through to use the one behind the counter - or you can use the ferry terminals in Ajaccio or Bastia - they have been our only options. Nor is the tap water generally considered drinkable, so every drop must be purchased. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We drove slowly out of Ajaccio in the rush hour, passing back through our village of Bottacina, and up into the mountains behind. Dry and arid peaks of granite were sticking up beyond the maquis coating the lower slopes. This was all breathtakingly beautiful, the road twisting steeply upwards, frequently turning back upon itself. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2DSe7wlqkeLEJUkWqtcXbofIpXRatKcHHYk-ewn-Ozgl1ZXs8a9SrGVg1UKKywWunF4J_2C-coaEQDf9u0XceU-Legi5bhjXp93LQrZgQrGhB09AyYMFmIySejSusvaZHDIgznuc6sd7Vz4OqbMqu0_FQNihIkMC1NutytReWrfzWl8lrw/s1280/550-12-Prunelli-Gorges.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2DSe7wlqkeLEJUkWqtcXbofIpXRatKcHHYk-ewn-Ozgl1ZXs8a9SrGVg1UKKywWunF4J_2C-coaEQDf9u0XceU-Legi5bhjXp93LQrZgQrGhB09AyYMFmIySejSusvaZHDIgznuc6sd7Vz4OqbMqu0_FQNihIkMC1NutytReWrfzWl8lrw/w400-h263/550-12-Prunelli-Gorges.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Gorges de Prunelli</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">At the top we stopped at the Col de Mercujo and walked to the belvedere from where we had views down onto the lake and the barrage that generates the electricity for much of Corsica. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDHNyDlB6EEtUUSBFBn15hkeGprdQZqyFlWbiHjNokPSY8rl3K2PqG75DcVqenBH9eOp_t8XIcTUSKvmICcXw77pxMKWkP283sTn7_UP86acOSe1FGO-JHEPkS3rHY3q9bYePecg_NIgw8z9pB78BM79R3AtVM3OEuqwS22QHMyGy6EUR9w/s1280/550-13-Prunelli-Tolla-Barrage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="840" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDHNyDlB6EEtUUSBFBn15hkeGprdQZqyFlWbiHjNokPSY8rl3K2PqG75DcVqenBH9eOp_t8XIcTUSKvmICcXw77pxMKWkP283sTn7_UP86acOSe1FGO-JHEPkS3rHY3q9bYePecg_NIgw8z9pB78BM79R3AtVM3OEuqwS22QHMyGy6EUR9w/w263-h400/550-13-Prunelli-Tolla-Barrage.jpg" width="263" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Prunelli, Barrage de Tolla</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The rain had cleared and everywhere seemed very bright in the evening sunshine. The bushes and greenery beggar description, so many flowering shrubs, rockery plants, wild roses, vetch, carnations and poppies. Birds sang continuously and even bees were out, though the air had a sharp clean crispness to it that made us grateful for our jackets. All around us were the pink granite teeth of the surrounding mountain. This was more like we had expected and more like our experience in the Picos de Europa. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We went down the far side of the col. The road surface was potholed and broken, very narrow and twisting, but fortunately we passed no traffic at that time of the evening. Then through the Gorge de Prunelli where we joined another road back to Bottacina. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We stopped and made our way through the damp fresh woods beneath the chestnut trees, following a sign to a Genoese bridge, a steep, beautifully maintained packhorse bridge with a high arch and no protective balustrade across the fast flowing, boulder-strewn little river Prunelli. It was a graceful structure with the mountains as a backdrop, the bubbling river and birds supplying the music, and the cold damp smell of the woods mixed with the aroma of many flowers beside the path making a feast for all the senses. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEV7TyfVUMuABWVlVkWACn_sBBkg7mkpV4yLmLQNEEVzOeoFo9bSdQvIkK6AsFvRapdWZmlXDuY0uabV-tDQEAiExgJCoEnXpO2gXh43SapQ3_eL-Jf04CmYwYbxuK5aAzMRuaVmNXNGpjx6gRLer4O6rhGt4qpACneE3gl2atSi3YFDelLg/s1280/550-14-Zipitoli-Pont.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEV7TyfVUMuABWVlVkWACn_sBBkg7mkpV4yLmLQNEEVzOeoFo9bSdQvIkK6AsFvRapdWZmlXDuY0uabV-tDQEAiExgJCoEnXpO2gXh43SapQ3_eL-Jf04CmYwYbxuK5aAzMRuaVmNXNGpjx6gRLer4O6rhGt4qpACneE3gl2atSi3YFDelLg/w400-h263/550-14-Zipitoli-Pont.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Pont de Zipitoli</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">It was so isolated and magic, yet as we returned to the car it became even more so. Arriving at a glade beneath the trees, we watched as a wild black sow trotted across the clearing followed by six or seven scampering little piglets. We had heard that they had sangliers in the mountains and we have actually been privileged to see them. </span><span style="font-family: times;">On our return drive we also saw a couple of pink pigs foraging by the roadside but they looked more like the ordinary domestic variety. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Back at our little house we cooked our pizza, and sat watching the sunset and drinking wine, whilst writing postcards.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>Saturday 22 May, 1999</b> (continued later)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We are now in a hotel in Sartène, the Hotel Rossi. It is the only place we could find and it is overpriced though okay. As it is Pentecȏte and therefore a long weekend, everywhere gets booked up. We have a garden room with a little patio area so we were able to eat our picnic supper with wine outside at a little table watching the surrounding gardens darken with the dusk.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuzl5XMqb5OQKIfaHwoskpZ23_aHqnRtMsTHdFa3MGxRwINrantktbrHGJna_mSNYcX92SzW4D9cmYsCSvsY_YQoGB_-p0axy-PyIBHw22p0SK5zeJK0uE85RWnafjwjbOviS8EL5-CF9k3OpoOlZNUnWgBPiCRWAyOv3Mnv_8K4PbZnG8Q/s1280/550-15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1280" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuzl5XMqb5OQKIfaHwoskpZ23_aHqnRtMsTHdFa3MGxRwINrantktbrHGJna_mSNYcX92SzW4D9cmYsCSvsY_YQoGB_-p0axy-PyIBHw22p0SK5zeJK0uE85RWnafjwjbOviS8EL5-CF9k3OpoOlZNUnWgBPiCRWAyOv3Mnv_8K4PbZnG8Q/w400-h260/550-15.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Hameaux de Bottacina, view toward Ajaccio</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLu6jW75u6zZmYCVPz3XFDeX3fTHNA68184ZIoQp7SSYVOrrER2a_IdF-Q37jMGrTXjBTjnDxp7eo29RfHG8nyeHCKskFnuRLPATAGesgTnHF9ZEcx9Xsj8EHlG_KuKQy5wjjEqHM4hoaePeXhTwBxPYxDRKaQeBxCxULNNn026JksN9zqJQ/s1280/550-16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLu6jW75u6zZmYCVPz3XFDeX3fTHNA68184ZIoQp7SSYVOrrER2a_IdF-Q37jMGrTXjBTjnDxp7eo29RfHG8nyeHCKskFnuRLPATAGesgTnHF9ZEcx9Xsj8EHlG_KuKQy5wjjEqHM4hoaePeXhTwBxPYxDRKaQeBxCxULNNn026JksN9zqJQ/w400-h264/550-16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Scenery near the Col de Celaccia</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">This morning we left Bottacina about 10 am and drove to Filitosa, one of the most important archaeological sites in Corsica. It</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2c3e50; font-family: times;"> was inhabited more or less continuously from the 9th millennium until the 3rd century BCE and the arrival of the Romans. It was a fascinating site and its setting was magnificent. It has been very hot today and it was quite sticky clambering about among the granite rocks examining the really impressive carved menhirs, complete with faces and weapons. Even the backs of the standing stones had faint traces of decoration. We explored the remains of buildings, rooms, underground storage chambers, strangely shaped granite boulders (carved or natural?) and the original quarry from where the building material originated. The whole site is the product of a Bronze Age </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c3e50; font-family: times;">civilization</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c3e50; font-family: times;"> known as the Torrean </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c3e50; font-family: times;">culture</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c3e50; font-family: times;">. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c3e50; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJtMYdL8mb9M1nvaOcsHl8zhJNCaDC1f3YZwCeehy63H-fwBWoTXr3RjJ7iszTBltEy4-_lZ7mqC0RG6rJYKt-DfJi2p65YK2M-MfA7ThhLa4BGnOWpJ7Uz-EwbJvh65GuiBzE5GWH7BBztvGiylNXaBbXgUQm0uyNpPhmuflQznc8JWHzQ/s1280/550-17-Filitosa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJtMYdL8mb9M1nvaOcsHl8zhJNCaDC1f3YZwCeehy63H-fwBWoTXr3RjJ7iszTBltEy4-_lZ7mqC0RG6rJYKt-DfJi2p65YK2M-MfA7ThhLa4BGnOWpJ7Uz-EwbJvh65GuiBzE5GWH7BBztvGiylNXaBbXgUQm0uyNpPhmuflQznc8JWHzQ/s320/550-17-Filitosa.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Filitosa, prehistoric site</span></i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3Z5-2K2S-xjNcGvm65YCqpZcpjwABgfLgxKm9TqWXIdqKta4KAUXWmcud5QiSnnY6RtdgMsdoNS43kCa7uYJ737qn5EoP0x3W8t53I0XkfhFsuwvIrnE_z7H2QQ5156uW-MTguwHgdL5LMLvBkNJJRqzJ-4w3eWH3rempQntQ1fdgyB6aQ/s1280/550-18-Filitosa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="876" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3Z5-2K2S-xjNcGvm65YCqpZcpjwABgfLgxKm9TqWXIdqKta4KAUXWmcud5QiSnnY6RtdgMsdoNS43kCa7uYJ737qn5EoP0x3W8t53I0XkfhFsuwvIrnE_z7H2QQ5156uW-MTguwHgdL5LMLvBkNJJRqzJ-4w3eWH3rempQntQ1fdgyB6aQ/w274-h400/550-18-Filitosa.jpg" width="274" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Filitosa, rock formation</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">We continued to Propriano, a straggling seaside resort with little to recommend it. We stopped briefly, but were happy enough to move on after a cursory walk along the seafront and main street. Then on to Sart</span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">ène, crowded and hot, built entirely from granite rising directly out of the bedrock, high on the hillside. The old town is very picturesque with narrow streets, hidden corners, and steps everywhere leading to different levels. The population is 3,200 and during the day they are not much in evidence, the town being given over to tourists. We went back this evening however, and it was full of local people, the men all arguing loudly on the benches in the central area or playing boules, the women all standing in the streets or on their doorsteps, chatting, and children everywhere with bikes or footballs. Whatever can life hold for them? Nobody seemed to have anything to do, and the children can have no real future here. There is also a remarkable number of cats and dogs around the town. Where everyone buys the goods they need is a mystery. There are of course bars and pizzerias everywhere but during the afternoon there wasn't a shop open anywhere. We later found one little, very expensive general store that seemed to open from 5.00 to 7.30 pm where we stocked up on emergency things like bread and water, tomorrow being Whitsunday. We left </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c3e50; font-family: times;">Sart</span><span style="font-family: times;">ène around 4.30, not expecting to return, but were eventually forced back, being unable to find overnight accommodation elsewhere. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">Having both read <i>Colomba</i> before we came, we decided to visit Fozzano, the mountain village reputed to be the one used as the location for the novella by Prosper Merimée, where the buildings described still stand and there is even a Colomba buried in the churchyard. It is situated high up in beautiful mountain country about ten kilometers out of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c3e50; font-family: times;">Sart</span><span style="font-family: times;">ène along a winding, narrow, poorly maintained road. The village itself is very pretty, magical almost with the gentle sound of the sheep bells as the flocks moved around in the steep fields below the village. All around are the mountains with tiny fields surrounding the village. Everywhere there is the scent of flowers, brilliant against the hewn granite blocks of the old buildings with their flagged passageways and steps between the different levels. Beyond, between the mountain peaks, the sun shone on the blue water of the Golfe de Valinco on which stands Propriano. It was quite possible to imagine the setting of the powerful novel of revenge, but today it all seemed so peaceful in the afternoon sun, the maquis stretching straight up from the roadside above and behind the village. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We were not to be left to dream and imagine though, as we were quickly cornered by the village eccentric. We could hardly understand him, but he was going on about Princess Diana, the Queen Mother, whether Prince Charles would become King as he was going around with a divorcee, and wasn't Margaret Thatcher wonderful! To escape, we said we were going to look at the church, but he produced the key to the church door and said that he would show us around. In fairness it was worth seeing inside. The church was filled with statues and flowers and in an excellent state of repair and without him we would never have been able to see inside. He also pointed out a Madonna and Child carved in fig tree wood reckoned to be seventeenth century and in excellent condition. It had been found washed up on the shore, presumably the figurehead from an Italian ship, and was carried by the men of Fozzano all the way up to their church. She is reputed to have performed a number of miracles.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Our self-appointed guide then decided to show us Colomba's tower and anything else he could think of to keep us from leaving. As he dragged us through the village he kept shouting to anyone and everyone that he was taking visitors to see Colomba. I felt really embarrassed, wondering how many other literary pilgrims had suffered a similar humiliation. Ian didn't appear to mind, so I left him to do the talking. We did eventually escape, but for me at least it spoiled the pleasure of the visit. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibg3DnrbBta3kikRY9vNaC3PWs-RUg6iVUdyEHX7xYZvCsKfokf3rEiPDsjVVeTSp9YsYvbq1vtKAiMYYil70Q_BfMy6I5d0dYuCkpRZFx9Yuvd75EglftaDitYzWRWWUFMVXypmnQPS2Vaj-JKc3NRXyQt--8OncNUm65h3nGKcPXCOr_yw/s1280/550-20-Fozzano-Colomba-Tour.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="840" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibg3DnrbBta3kikRY9vNaC3PWs-RUg6iVUdyEHX7xYZvCsKfokf3rEiPDsjVVeTSp9YsYvbq1vtKAiMYYil70Q_BfMy6I5d0dYuCkpRZFx9Yuvd75EglftaDitYzWRWWUFMVXypmnQPS2Vaj-JKc3NRXyQt--8OncNUm65h3nGKcPXCOr_yw/w263-h400/550-20-Fozzano-Colomba-Tour.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>La Tour de Colomba, Fozzano</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div>We drove down from the mountains and back to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2c3e50; font-family: times;">Sart</span><span><span style="font-family: times;">ène where we found the hotel we are using tonight, During our journey from Fozzano we passed another medieval bridge, this time with parapets and rising to a definite point in the middle, It probably dates from the thirteenth century, which could make it Pisan rather than Genoan. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4v25ekqzu2P_OW2ZD_siARqozuUmbvqyWlusetROUGZkXZGw_le86LQh02e0pEZkhZc6-vS5a36K3QHDxqMsx8Ue2mQUnvKr-TLnitQG740ZfSJbEjEq2oTeVQElRMbY3TZbk5n59QT_-7etpCR6T7LPPCUvjo1bEM_f6HvvjzqduigT0g/s1280/550-19-Spina-Cavallu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1280" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4v25ekqzu2P_OW2ZD_siARqozuUmbvqyWlusetROUGZkXZGw_le86LQh02e0pEZkhZc6-vS5a36K3QHDxqMsx8Ue2mQUnvKr-TLnitQG740ZfSJbEjEq2oTeVQElRMbY3TZbk5n59QT_-7etpCR6T7LPPCUvjo1bEM_f6HvvjzqduigT0g/w400-h261/550-19-Spina-Cavallu.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>Pont de Spina Cavallu</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Sunday 23 May 1999</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We are now in the Hotel de la Terrace in Zonza, in the mountains up behind Ponte Vecchia on the east coast of Corsica. This morning we breakfasted on the terrace of our little garden room in <span style="background-color: white; color: #2c3e50; font-family: times;">Sart</span><span><span style="font-family: times;">ène, the sun already hot, before setting off for Bonifacio. Although twisting, the roads were in general wide and well surfaced. There was little traffic in evidence this Whitsunday.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: times;">Bonifacio turned out to be much nicer than we had expected. Its main industry is of course tourism, and there are restaurants, bars and pizzerias everywhere, but it adds to the colour in many ways without detracting from its historical charm</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We parked the car and walked down to the harbour which was teaming with fish of all sorts and sizes, wonderful to watch as they swam in shoals through the clear waters of the bay. Nearby was a group of Corsican dancers dressed in national costume. Many of the women wore black dresses and danced in bare feet on the searingly hot pavement. The men wore black waistcoats and hats. A group of women dressed in black sang Corsican songs in harsh voices to keep the dancers in step, and they were accompanied by men playing violins. The group appeared to be unofficial and held up a coach and a line of traffic as they danced in the road and everyone gathered around.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8LBJFH0NAo5-s-QLL_0VqClzG5VtLd1f1nLcPu4flHfYdvpwB0hRJC2VRseoSLwI2gcVW7ncGk38Ywo79QDvm9PDXol1AXuy2jiGLKSPDNXAK3Spv9HDAcKqghbjQFfkvE7A3tDdao7hd3z6NnDmer-99DeC_boJeu0MWIxFui5DwP-Kwiw/s1280/550-22-Bonifazio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8LBJFH0NAo5-s-QLL_0VqClzG5VtLd1f1nLcPu4flHfYdvpwB0hRJC2VRseoSLwI2gcVW7ncGk38Ywo79QDvm9PDXol1AXuy2jiGLKSPDNXAK3Spv9HDAcKqghbjQFfkvE7A3tDdao7hd3z6NnDmer-99DeC_boJeu0MWIxFui5DwP-Kwiw/s320/550-22-Bonifazio.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0cgHtZnvl0fXzzVjnYjUG5U5HQ9iymA78DyqFFmZbkVXqQ2sNo9LqdqG6T62NgNhxcjHIdtQqHjNdVuqax3V2VPUOg9RqQADNTFWF1is6re7-p7K3DZPoCf0ljiRZGrPAndIIQwA1qkT3wnKNIBrYP6hE7t8EP5xVWz1vBQj3j9QhO5Cnw/s1280/550-21-Bonifazio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1280" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0cgHtZnvl0fXzzVjnYjUG5U5HQ9iymA78DyqFFmZbkVXqQ2sNo9LqdqG6T62NgNhxcjHIdtQqHjNdVuqax3V2VPUOg9RqQADNTFWF1is6re7-p7K3DZPoCf0ljiRZGrPAndIIQwA1qkT3wnKNIBrYP6hE7t8EP5xVWz1vBQj3j9QhO5Cnw/s320/550-21-Bonifazio.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Bonifacio, Corsican dancers</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We climbed up hundreds of steps to the old town, perched on the very edge, if not overhanging, the white limestone cliffs. Below and above the sea and sky were of an incredible blue, tumbled rocks lying at the bottom of the cliffs, others showing beneath the transparent water. Looking out to sea, hardly any distance away it seemed, although some fifteen kilometers, was the coast of Sardinia, another island, another country, another language. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="856" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgSorey_c4fgnbm9k9r-tOl-J1HP0Al2H5vWs5WOMQkMogWHL-ftn-lZoPk0qq67cbzXuDid09vzaQKXZDvZIYet9mUvS7-ma0Evi2C_7Zf7OAcQj55YY2E48HdSnXRO4JYRTTuv3uYPbkTmfWhGr-x4jlzuel0j0vGe6DBWnCcYGoA1JwQ/w268-h400/550-23-Bonifazio.jpg" width="268" /> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>Bonifacio, cliffs</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Inside the city walls of Bonifacio it was wonderful. Sheer old houses, their doors wide open, showed staircases so vertical they were virtually internal ladders to reach each floor. The streets were cobbled with steps everywhere, with narrow alleyways between. Here though, unlike Sartène, the buildings were constructed from white dressed limestone and reflected a dazzling brightness. Here too restaurants and pizzerias were everywhere - I've never seen a country with so many possibilities to intake food and drink, and so few for getting rid of it afterwards! Anywhere that there was space for a parasol and a table, places were set for lunch. There seemed quite a number of local people eating out for their Sunday lunch in family groups. There was also of course, a great number of tourists adding to the happy holiday atmosphere.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">There were several churches tucked among the shops and houses, their doors wide open to the sunshine, directly onto the little streets, their cool interiors very inviting, with trays of flickering candles in red glasses on either side of the altar as offerings of remembrance. Many had statues, usually polychrome wood, and dim, tarnished oil paintings of religious scenes. The atmosphere is far more Italian than French. A little elderly lady started talking to me in one of the churches and her French accent was also Italianate, and I found it very difficult to understand her. She was on a day out from Porte-Vecchio and was obviously finding the churches superb. She told me several times about one of the churches higher up in the town that had a fist-sized piece of blackened wood that was part of the True Cross of Christ. That church was closed today, she said - strange on Whitsunday - but she had been specially allowed to see it. She was obviously very fervent. I made the mistake of thanking her for telling me something so very interesting, and she immediately jumped on me for using such an understated word as "interesting" in such a context. Again she told me that she wasn't from Bonifacio and asked me which part of Corsica I was from, so my French can't have been quite as bad as I thought. She seemed to forgive my error when I said we were from England, and seemed rather taken aback. I don't know why; we saw many English people around, but perhaps they didn't chat with old ladies in churches.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We climbed up to the very top of the town to find a medieval fair in progress. Horses were tethered in the shade of a group of olive trees, straw was spread on the streets, there were archery butts (crossbow here, not your English longbow) several cannons, mercifully decorative rather than functional, and people dressed in medieval costume, the men in hose and doublet in beautiful purples and royal blues, the women with wonderfully coloured dresses and floating veils. The thick platform soled shoes of some looked rather incongruous - perhaps they were meant to be pattens. A man in purple tights and a lace collar was shovelling horse droppings off the street into an anachronistic plastic bag carried by an eight year old lad dressed as a jester in red and yellow with a hat to match with three drooping points, each with a jangling bell at the tip. There were plenty of shaded stalls lining the streets selling everything from Italian nougat, sugary almonds, sweetmeats and pastries, to hundreds of different kinds of cheeses and sausages. There were even stalls selling oriental carpets, local pewter-ware and Italian carved wooden tables. We were offered samples of all kinds of foodstuffs with no pressure to buy. Free glasses of honey wine, mead perhaps, were handed out, and we wandered to try at random proffered samples of nougat, sausages, cheese etc - all of it delicious, and the people very friendly. One man told us that he didn't mind if we didn't buy anything, but he'd be very offended if we didn't eat the sweets he was offering to us. All this at the very top of the most southerly town on Corsica with the blue sea and Sardinia visible with a turn of the head. One woman selling nougat said that she came from Sardinia, and had travelled over on the ferry with her produce specially for today. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Eventually the heat forced us down. We descended steep, uneven, narrow stone staircases we discovered built inside the actual ramparts of the town. Inside it was cool and out of the sun's glare, being stone vaulted with little openings all the way down, offering views out over the town or the sea. As we reached the lower levels, the steps became a tunnel hewn directly from the rock on which the ramparts had been built. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Back at the port, we bought Italian ices and sat on a shaded terrace to eat them while waiters rushed back and forth with trays of seafood for the lunches of diners who preferred the sunny heat at the water's edge across the street where tables had been set up, each with a little parasol. Then we made use of the rarely to be found clean facilities, before returning to our car and reluctantly leaving Bonifacio behind.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Next stop was Porte-Vecchio, where our friends Peter and Kate once stayed, so we sent them a postcard as a reminder. We parked by the port, not a lot there, and climbed in the hot sunshine up into the old town, a pleasant little place, built from granite with narrow streets layered one above the other running around the hilltop site inside the Genoese gateway. An attractive place, although without many major sites. I think it is the hinterland that makes it such a delightful holiday location.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We drove out of Porte-Vecchio, up along the winding route into the mountains towards Zonza. The route was reasonably wide although it could be bumpy and poorly maintained, crumbling and potholed in places. We ascended steadily through superb scenery, pulling in to look down onto the blue Golfe de Porte-Vecchio and the little town far below. The maquis surrounded us, making us feel that we were threading our way through a garantuan granite rockery. There had obviously been fires here in places fairly recently, and although the shrubs and undergrowth had regrown, there were gnarled and blackened trees with their dead branches projecting above the verdant hillside covering. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">As we continued upward, we were forced to the edge of the road by a cavalcade of cars coming down the centre of the road, their headlights on, horns blaring, gesticulating to me to get off the road. On the roof of the first was a banner declaring it to be the cycling Tour de Corse - more like a tour de force, given the challenging routes. Anyway, we crushed against the inside edge of the road and waited, along with several other cars who tucked in behind us. More horns blaring announced the first wave of lycra-clad, helmeted young men who shot past with intense expressions, relieved no doubt to be going downhill again after having climbed to the top of the col on the far side. They were going right down the centre of the road, ignoring whether anyone was round the bend. Each wave of half a dozen bikes was followed by a convoy of five or six vehicles, their Corsican passengers making the most of the opportunity to create as much racket and din in the mountains as they could, all waving at us to stay off the road. Nobody however tells you when they have all passed, so we sat there like lemons, but eventually, with no more in sight, we set off cautiously, only to meet a few latecomers hurtling round the bend, unaccompanied by noise as their supporters had given up on them, and gone off to do something more interesting. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8HiY3p0h_GCcMVzTgk_nhuSp4U7Wr2dplsqxU60mbKU91hcqpv7msTlMqRkrUlF9WOrCAseeK_7B0slKYGBlgE66duVOVRDvEsVGOnqwqJBmf7mP5qjtkMFlHSxkD3DgFIz9w9W22wbiHpDTN0q8kxfLZHP5GKwfiZ3BsxTx6zHcpcxqIA/w400-h264/550-24-Ospedale-Foret.jpg" width="400" /></span></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Straggling cyclists on the Tour de Corse, Forêt de l'Ospédale</span></i></div></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59B__nHU3Je1IE4ExWn7WBJ9LycQi6ni_u_Quu3E3U6Re6p7SEsaA9ck0BCUYEv-4h0slxpChgE01erE4mqvboLN-4D1OESCjDjawK7uBrcuy8G_t6_cugo8uyNkD9EHiCpUeIxreaYNRjLzzQYVrA8gpBbU4tdm4RaLST4YwGER37P8sYA/s1280/560-01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">So we continued on our upward route, taking every bend with even more caution, the occasional cyclist hurtling past. The air was cooler but still close. Suddenly there was an enormous roar and crash of thunder, really loud in the mountains, and at the same moment almost the sky deluged us and in seconds the road was a running torrent. We rushed to shut the car windows and roof vent and again hugged the side of the road. It would have been impossible to drive as visibility was reduced to zero.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Such intense storms do not last long, so we soon moved on in a more gentle rain, pausing by a lakeside, but deciding it was too wet to explore. Then up toward the col known as the Bocca d'Illarata where we stopped and walked through the pine trees to a granite outcrop, and searched for the Cascade de Piscia di Gallo, which we didn't find - why would a waterfall be at the top anyway, where water wouldn't gather? It must have been quite a walk away, but as it was 6 pm, raining, and we had no idea if we would find accommodation in Zonza, we decided to press on. The scenery though was magnificent, more like the Jura but in pink porphyritic granite. Here we were at the level of pine trees, though all round the crags flowers were still blooming in profusion.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1280" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0d43k_RaI_RwMJuxXX1fCREp95nB-ITQpTEPFIeER70CalCYCCuDTahb2aGqg7upA1LHnLU8IaQoJ5E9Czk6i4z65NdXL0OUCaKhy5hBnZlvVgIB8fsIRMxzS6admFS1BizmtbPz7GLm9qJFOTl1Q4Ib77z6NY3M862NOlRSESx1tMW1zDg/w400-h261/560-00.jpg" width="400" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59B__nHU3Je1IE4ExWn7WBJ9LycQi6ni_u_Quu3E3U6Re6p7SEsaA9ck0BCUYEv-4h0slxpChgE01erE4mqvboLN-4D1OESCjDjawK7uBrcuy8G_t6_cugo8uyNkD9EHiCpUeIxreaYNRjLzzQYVrA8gpBbU4tdm4RaLST4YwGER37P8sYA/w400-h264/560-01.jpg" width="400" /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Scenery in the Forêt de Baroccaggio Marghèse</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0d43k_RaI_RwMJuxXX1fCREp95nB-ITQpTEPFIeER70CalCYCCuDTahb2aGqg7upA1LHnLU8IaQoJ5E9Czk6i4z65NdXL0OUCaKhy5hBnZlvVgIB8fsIRMxzS6admFS1BizmtbPz7GLm9qJFOTl1Q4Ib77z6NY3M862NOlRSESx1tMW1zDg/s1280/560-00.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Finally we reached Zonza and found this little hotel and the only room left, costing 170 francs a night but having to share the bathroom and shower with one other room. Otherwise it's clean and comfortable, with a very pleasant patron who said that if everyone in England spoke French as well as we do, he'd go there for his holidays, but as he couldn't speak English, he wouldn't dare! Our heads are really swollen now - two compliments in one day!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>We explored the village, situated at an altitude of about 800 meters, and watched the dusk gather over the mountains and a thick mass of white mist fill the valley below us. The village is full of dogs, mostly elderly and bedraggled, but once one starts to bark, they all do. One lady in the street put her fingers to her ears and exclaimed to us about the "orchestre des chiens". We named them the Zonza Dog Doo-Dah Band, a name inspired by the long-lived (but now, in 2022, defunct) </span><span>Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We ate supper in the hotel, the plat du jour wild sanglier with gnocchi - we simply had to go native. It doesn't taste at all like pork, being a much darker, more gamy meat, and I felt guilty eating it, but must confess that it was delicious. I just hope that it wasn't the black sow with the row of little brown piglets that we saw the other day. It was well matched by a carafe of house wine for 25 francs and we were served by the son of the patron. It was all lovely, with real roses on our table and a damask cloth. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Then a final walk around the village, where Ian phoned his mother and also our daughter Kate, to whom he pretended to he was a Corsican bandit holding her parents hostage and demanding an extortionate ransom for our release. His French accent wasn't good enough as her reply was "Hi, Dad, have you been drinking?" </span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">
1. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-1-bastia-to-porto.html">Bastia to Porto</a>.<br />
2. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-2-porto-to-zonza.html">Porto to Zonza</a>.<br />
3. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-3-zonza-to-corte.html">Zonza to Corte</a>.<br />
4. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-4-corte-to-bastia.html">Corte to Bastia</a>.</span><br />
Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-83034744416622612842022-09-13T21:27:00.007+01:002022-09-19T21:05:58.505+01:00Corsica 1999. 1. Bastia to Porto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Corsica : a tour in May 1999</span></div>1. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-1-bastia-to-porto.html">Bastia to Porto</a>.<br />2. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-2-porto-to-zonza.html">Porto to Zonza</a>.<br />3. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-3-zonza-to-corte.html">Zonza to Corte</a>.<br />4. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-4-corte-to-bastia.html">Corte to Bastia</a>.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Setting the scene. </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This tour was made before the years of travel in our little camper van Modestine, which only started on our retirement in 2005, and are described in a lengthy series of on-line blogs. Our 1999 visit was a precious two weeks snatched from our annual leave and with the relatively recently acquired freedom of having both our children off our hands. Something of the exhilaration of this short period of liberty in such a beautiful island comes across in the detailed account that Jill painstaking wrote up by hand every day. It has been transcribed from her manuscript with very little editing to preserve the immediacy of her delight in everything that we experienced. Recent developments mean that our years of travel together have finally come to an end, but this account will serve as a fitting memory of one of the most enjoyable of our journeys. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ian Maxted, September 2022</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">An oversimplified chronology of Corsica.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">4000-1800 Late Neolithic & Chalcolithic. Megalithic site at Filitosa.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1800-700<span> Bronze Age. Torrean culture at Filitosa and Cucuruzzu.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">900-700<span> </span><span> Phoenician settlements along coast.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">600-500<span> </span><span> Carthaginian presence on the island.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">566 BCE<span> Greeks found Aleria.</span><span> </span><span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">535 BCE Etruscans assume control of the island.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">238 BCE Roman province established after First Punic War.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">430 CE Vandals and Ostrogoths dispute ownership of Corsica.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">469 Vandals complete conquest of Corsica.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">534 Byzantine Empire assumes control.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">725 Becomes part of Lombard Kingdom.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">774 Annexed by Charlemagne to Frankish realms.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1077 Becomes part of the Papal States.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1090 Administration allocated to Pisa, contested by Aragon.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1284 Genoa defeats Pisa and assumes control of Corsica.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1729 Corsicans initiate revolt against Genoa.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1755 Corsican Republic proclaimed under Pasquale Paoli.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1767 Republic of Genoa sells Corsica to France.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1769 Corsican Republic conquered by France.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1769 Napoléon Bonaparte born in Ajaccio. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1794 Anglo-Corsican Kingdom established.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1796 Corsica returned to French rule.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1801 Lucien Bonaparte founds Bibliothèque Municipale, Ajaccio. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1814 British troops land and briefly take over administration.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1920 Separatist movement founded. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1940 Corsica part of Vichy France</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1942 Corsica occupied by Italian military forces. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1943 Liberation of Corsica after capitulation of Italy. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">1976 Split into departments of Haute-Corse & Corse-du-Sud. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">2018 Corsica become a united region of France.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Map of our travels in May 1999</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Our route is marked in red, the numbers indicating the day of the month when we were travelling each section of the route and the larger red circles marking the places where we spent each night. Smaller red points locate major settlements or sites visited. Where there is no circle against the name it refers to a region rather than a specific locality. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8W9TRukUnjpO-T14YQqMtQeP8z7vn5BBnBAFDxDUtqOZSkFLPqrAg0ZVp7tRiNXAH-3kPhvh5ih9nEYIUMPk0ZhAI4-E5tYWv4xhhj-FTwOeSMZCDy4ajFhYfIyPafMYqAmnpaBUCgwDRbrmm5rEVrgDM6v6ZjRJXeuohB-i54xU20kWAzw/s1280/Corsica-1999-map-602x1280.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="602" height="898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8W9TRukUnjpO-T14YQqMtQeP8z7vn5BBnBAFDxDUtqOZSkFLPqrAg0ZVp7tRiNXAH-3kPhvh5ih9nEYIUMPk0ZhAI4-E5tYWv4xhhj-FTwOeSMZCDy4ajFhYfIyPafMYqAmnpaBUCgwDRbrmm5rEVrgDM6v6ZjRJXeuohB-i54xU20kWAzw/w423-h898/Corsica-1999-map-602x1280.jpg" width="423" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Part 1. Bastia to Porto</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Sunday 16 May, 1999</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">For once, we are not on a <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brittany</st1:place></st1:state>
ferry! This morning we flew to <st1:place w:st="on">Corsica</st1:place>! We are
now sitting on the terrace of a hotel watching a rosy sunset on the <st1:place w:st="on">Mediterranean</st1:place>. Below us is the harbour of a tiny seaside
village near the northernmost point of the island, with a flotilla of small fishing boats bobbing at anchor in the crystal
clear water of the harbour. From our
supper table we can see right to the seabed.
The harbour is teeming with tiny fish, and some not so tiny. There are also pretty pink jellyfish pulsing
their way through the water, the delicate umbrella pumping it forward with the
long pink tendrils following behind. The
harbour is surrounded by big old pink-rendered houses with roofs tiled in the
local green schist; the buildings stagger back up the hillside for maybe three
or four streets with the belfry of the village church showing above the topmost
street.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzVepxbIO1SmQBPS4eXd3t1zRG9G6CwjH3TfErjGUtWKNpK4xTlm2iWTAsVmGQ0hQude764rDwP3emBwl2c22dYGXSUZjrKQF4GrpiZnodG-uCnFkgg_pj1R06wojWbi9-yZH7MhAuSYZsgJg9cO5CGItCzILkYBdZ56NYnRqXFSl3D9baA/s1280/530-29.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="982" data-original-width="1280" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzVepxbIO1SmQBPS4eXd3t1zRG9G6CwjH3TfErjGUtWKNpK4xTlm2iWTAsVmGQ0hQude764rDwP3emBwl2c22dYGXSUZjrKQF4GrpiZnodG-uCnFkgg_pj1R06wojWbi9-yZH7MhAuSYZsgJg9cO5CGItCzILkYBdZ56NYnRqXFSl3D9baA/w400-h308/530-29.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Centuri, jellyfish in harbour</span></i></div></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The sun has just dropped below the horizon, and the sky is
diffused with a glorious array of colours ranging from crimson to rose pink and
bright orange to green and yellow.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Across the little harbour within shouting distance the fish
restaurant with its big tank of langoustines has turned on its little terraced
lights which reflect and refract in the gently lapping water. Here too the lights have gone on, along the rail
behind us, and in a parasol above our table. Halfway up the steep hillside the lights of
an even tinier village are now shining against the black outline of the crest
of the hill.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Inside the little hotel Corsican music is playing, adding to
the atmosphere, and a charming waitress has just finished serving the fourth
course of our Corsican meal. We are now
finishing our wine, feeling very full from fish soup with garlic croutons and
grated cheese followed by a locally caught fish - the landlord catches his own
fish. It's a tasty and very bony and meaty fish described as "darne de dentelle".
This was served with a tomato and herb sauce, rice and salad, and was followed
by a mild goat's cheese white and "a bit like yoghurt with the wet bits removed",
says Ian. Finally we were served pasticcio,
a Corsican desert of semolina tart served cold with a pleasant sharp-tasting
sauce.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN02VwEdUJgqXKWwUkFgQbmrovADkpLDoRxXbuTPpFiGVbaxY8uEsrc0yvakVu-2XsB9yAf5oAqpCo7mp3DuinYnPthzBaNyH_Fid3nSj4TFJMSaQuid9aoRP15oS8jDe4KU-PXBvmZ41_DcQb3rOPb--7aFYsRYCRSKw3-9roIBoBrKlzdg/s1280/530-31-Centuri.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN02VwEdUJgqXKWwUkFgQbmrovADkpLDoRxXbuTPpFiGVbaxY8uEsrc0yvakVu-2XsB9yAf5oAqpCo7mp3DuinYnPthzBaNyH_Fid3nSj4TFJMSaQuid9aoRP15oS8jDe4KU-PXBvmZ41_DcQb3rOPb--7aFYsRYCRSKw3-9roIBoBrKlzdg/w400-h264/530-31-Centuri.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Centuri, view of the harbour</i></div></i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This village is called Centuri and it is on the western side
of Cap Corse near the top joint of the finger on the fist of <st1:place w:st="on">Corsica</st1:place>
pointing northwards. A stroll around the village showed it to be a very
pleasant little place. Children played
in the narrow road outside their front doors whilst women sat chatting on their
doorsteps. There were cactuses
everywhere some huge thick succulents with all sorts of different flowers sprouting
from them. Ones we pay a fortune for in
a pot from a garden centre in <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region>
grow by the roadside or on patches of waste ground here, and are a hundred times bigger! Lizards, yellow or green,
bask in the sun on patches of stony ground or on the tops of walls darting away
like lightning if we get too close.
Flowers are everywhere. The only
ones familiar to me are ragwort and red poppies, but there are many other poppy-like
flowers in pinks, whites and pale yellows.
There are thick succulent-leaved plants bearing aster-like heads in
mauves, yellows, and orange-reds but undoubtedly the many different cactuses are
the plants that intrigue us the most. </p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrtouAvQL39k97GFpN2A7s58QZvfRnUiZN5HPgyt2oIGsz-s4Iubi0AT4l2b9STawvjL2Zg6mBc6szlH9GFTLTD6npDJCieR0xoSGGIQ-Hr1saVi6P2BJYLjpeZ0X-0ybkWwOTvAxQYlcOTfiVg3KsVPXmzhH5wan_WG70m0FbaUL1KH8pw/s1280/530-30.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrtouAvQL39k97GFpN2A7s58QZvfRnUiZN5HPgyt2oIGsz-s4Iubi0AT4l2b9STawvjL2Zg6mBc6szlH9GFTLTD6npDJCieR0xoSGGIQ-Hr1saVi6P2BJYLjpeZ0X-0ybkWwOTvAxQYlcOTfiVg3KsVPXmzhH5wan_WG70m0FbaUL1KH8pw/w400-h300/530-30.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Centuri, lizard</span></i></div></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">All over the hillsides, as soon as they start to rise up, not
much more than a few hundred yards inland from the coast, lies the maquis. We
weren't sure what it was until we saw it, and then we realised at once. It is a dense covering of scrubby, low bushes
and stunted trees interspersed with heath land, jagged, bare, grey arid rock,
and masses of smaller plants and shrubs all of which seem to be flowering
especially for our benefit. It is
supposed to have such a powerful fragrance that Napoléon, a native of <st1:place w:st="on">Corsica</st1:place> claimed that he could recognise Corsica with his
eyes shut just by its smell alone. I
wouldn't go that far. Smell-wise it
reminded me of <st1:place w:st="on">Dartmoor</st1:place> because of the aroma
of decaying animal droppings. Here it's
goats and mouflons, and in the warm sunshine with the blue of the <st1:place w:st="on">Mediterranean</st1:place> and the towering inland mountains as a
backdrop it is far from unpleasant.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Monday, 17 May, 1999</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It is going to be difficult finding time to keep this up to
date. We got up yesterday at 3.30 am to
be at Gatwick by 4.45 for our flight. We stayed with Aunt José overnight, where
we left our car Wotan, and took a taxi to the airport. We arrived at <st1:city w:st="on">Bastia</st1:city> airport by 9.00 am.
We picked up the car we've hired for a couple of weeks and ventured out into
the big wide Corsican world. I've been
really relieved to find less traffic around than I had expected - very little in
fact, but all coming from the opposite direction, which is a difficulty for me
on very twisty roads when I'm unfamiliar with the left hand drive Peugeot 206
and the roads are not well maintained, particularly at the edges. Several times we encountered coaches on unnavigable
bends, so was forced to reverse - now
where have they hidden reverse gear on this car?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We took the easy option from the airport, to familiarise
ourselves with the car, and drove north to Bastia, then parked and walked
around the Sunday market in the warm sunshine (20 degrees), taking shade beneath
the palm trees surrounding the enormous square with its statue of Napoléon. The people of the town were out in family
groups, children playing whilst parents sat at shaded tables drinking beer or
eating ices. On the market people were
queuing for freshly cooked balls of something.
We asked what they were, and were given one each to try. They turned out to be cubes of Corsican
goat's cheese wrapped in dough and deep fried.
We bought a couple each, a banana one for pudding, which we ate sitting
on the sea wall overlooking the harbour, where the ferries were arriving from Nice
or from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>. <st1:place w:st="on">Corsica</st1:place> has
its own ferry company Ferryterainée Corse. There were also Mobyline ferries.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-3MXJ11c58bNfWZaXk1YOhmFec5ewreNbtdbVMyZjqhPs3OnwrjZKI5-WJRkVu2kuNu092Skv8xitm6zIxd5Ia-pd0IJ7zzXrr4-7FjnID8rqedNsSowWX28S9O5O2GN5Kmalqp2KpnfZM428KDQraBdc10LeW7i84ZIG8BDD6tSsBAipQ/s1280/530-23-Bastia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="758" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-3MXJ11c58bNfWZaXk1YOhmFec5ewreNbtdbVMyZjqhPs3OnwrjZKI5-WJRkVu2kuNu092Skv8xitm6zIxd5Ia-pd0IJ7zzXrr4-7FjnID8rqedNsSowWX28S9O5O2GN5Kmalqp2KpnfZM428KDQraBdc10LeW7i84ZIG8BDD6tSsBAipQ/w239-h400/530-23-Bastia.jpg" width="239" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Bastia, main square with statue of Napol<span style="text-align: justify;">éon</span></span></i></div></i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We walked around the old harbour and amidst a network of
local alleys, dark and shady, very narrow with huge dilapidated old buildings
divided as flats, each with its line of washing hanging from the windows. The entrances stood open and seemed full of
rubbish bins and sacks of cement where restoration work had been started but
hadn't got very far. In the alleyways
docile dogs slept flat out on their sides.
The whole area was very run down, and in no better state of repair than <st1:city w:st="on">Budapest</st1:city>, about which I
wrote in such a negative style. However
with the Mediterranean climate, lack of graffiti and many tubs of geraniums,
this was far more acceptable. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBVviKylJKxHIvDE9PLj6ogc3MZvCpBx7PsizlluCnNG0rqhzzlKoNC50gklBF5K3B3reQvrtdNNXF6KmD7yTQbD-mqs9Ii91lHf7qZXLfYS7_pr_qOTheuCf75oYN1rvz1MHSvS7l-N5oPYu129EMbiYmn83cFDjlzFzkAH7k4iy_pYojbg/s1280/530-24-Bastia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBVviKylJKxHIvDE9PLj6ogc3MZvCpBx7PsizlluCnNG0rqhzzlKoNC50gklBF5K3B3reQvrtdNNXF6KmD7yTQbD-mqs9Ii91lHf7qZXLfYS7_pr_qOTheuCf75oYN1rvz1MHSvS7l-N5oPYu129EMbiYmn83cFDjlzFzkAH7k4iy_pYojbg/w400-h263/530-24-Bastia.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Bastia, houses in town centre</span></i></div></i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We climbed up to the citadel which was in fact a whole
little old town within the city walls, overlooking the old harbour. Again we walked around the little streets,
almost deserted except for children playing and the ubiquitous washing drying. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASX8Fkb65ZrUhg05N4CDcraeKMckN7Q2c-BCG16xBeGQYTBZClKgzbqsHjL5Rt3u2w-wC-gtB0G7EF7jmCPEbi3876Nejh1WoYdSgOxMwEcwpJkKhHq2wPY7lXceEGb1TRssE6bCn8g3kqzqr0CsNQYmVVhRZsA6gCJOFdjSvwS3ml7bAYg/s1280/530-25-Bastia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASX8Fkb65ZrUhg05N4CDcraeKMckN7Q2c-BCG16xBeGQYTBZClKgzbqsHjL5Rt3u2w-wC-gtB0G7EF7jmCPEbi3876Nejh1WoYdSgOxMwEcwpJkKhHq2wPY7lXceEGb1TRssE6bCn8g3kqzqr0CsNQYmVVhRZsA6gCJOFdjSvwS3ml7bAYg/w400-h259/530-25-Bastia.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Bastia, the harbour, seen from the citadel</span></i></div></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We returned to the car and made our way north along the east
coast of Cap Corse, a narrow road, with the sea to our right and the hills
covered in the maquis to our left. Fortunately there was not much traffic, and
we could drive slowly, pulling in to look at the views as we progressed. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We stopped at Erbalunga, a small fishing village north of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bastia</st1:place></st1:city>, wandering out
along the harbour wall and peering into the clear water with shoals of
tiny fishes. A walk through narrow
alleyways, all neatly paved with the green schist rock, brought us under
archways and between the pink houses to the romantic ruin of one of the many Genoese
watch towers that line the coast. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6OmC_0mVCoW26qTyrMJ-KYQe7wDO7urhLyEz5ie23D4F2JqZheNUvDHNc0r4GzV0-QF7LjYzEdveiD6XdNvGILEnHTa7O3OEAIX6OnHmz70sZ5DMp1yiuSHjZvRg9LDEVx-hi08aU8SbPdMB6plyTzdw-yPggcNI_GAuDr1_fo6mjOoKDQ/s1280/530-26-Erbalunga.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6OmC_0mVCoW26qTyrMJ-KYQe7wDO7urhLyEz5ie23D4F2JqZheNUvDHNc0r4GzV0-QF7LjYzEdveiD6XdNvGILEnHTa7O3OEAIX6OnHmz70sZ5DMp1yiuSHjZvRg9LDEVx-hi08aU8SbPdMB6plyTzdw-yPggcNI_GAuDr1_fo6mjOoKDQ/w400-h263/530-26-Erbalunga.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Erbalunga</span></i></div></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>Then
on north, still hugging the coast, to Machinaggio, where the road turned inland,
climbing through the maquis with marvellous views of the hills and sea, to
emerge at a more open area over 1000 feet above sea level where a car park at
the side of the road lay at the foot of a short path to a ruined windmill le Moulin
Mattei, where there was a panorama of the northernmost point of Corsica. At the other side of the pass were the stumps
of two other windmills with a flock of goats grazing around them. </span>We descended back to the car and, leaving the main road,
took a narrow route down to Centuri where we found our hotel.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOEaLGbsFCEl-EM3VejkmMd_y4bdtCuUOJpwxiY1TwxsC3iFWf40ck827peSQCtsZDHCzPByPm5YxanJu_G-VF-mOx3U_9afDnFgPhtX0LdqoKqlfFTku-LUkYi0jI1U3hlU6k0XkExsEo05a6lfhoBK5wQJbj7VlCFG5OP6ubx75C73a4w/s1280/530-27-Cap-Corse.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOEaLGbsFCEl-EM3VejkmMd_y4bdtCuUOJpwxiY1TwxsC3iFWf40ck827peSQCtsZDHCzPByPm5YxanJu_G-VF-mOx3U_9afDnFgPhtX0LdqoKqlfFTku-LUkYi0jI1U3hlU6k0XkExsEo05a6lfhoBK5wQJbj7VlCFG5OP6ubx75C73a4w/w400-h264/530-27-Cap-Corse.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Cap Corse</span></i></div></i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The Monday morning proved to be rainy with a stiff breeze. We
walked through the village, more deserted than the Sunday, picked up some bread
at the baker's, and set off, climbing tortuous road through the maquis to join
the main road running south along the west side of Cap Corse.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #282625; font-family: times; font-size: medium; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #282625; font-family: times; font-size: medium; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0hAs5dlUWPYmWsZ78Rue1ZGlzBN_ROMESNV8Ox6Y422R3S-CKWiiMfZouWyz84dqsjk5B8DZqzQ8hmjMIgeqWRPNvJqr_HeIa9ApTdksIucSY6OYhB2LHikU9xIssJgLm8dl4YEoancyi40RIcG-nvzIqS4yq-ua1qnh9vRITSkS7y8GjA/s1280/530-28.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0hAs5dlUWPYmWsZ78Rue1ZGlzBN_ROMESNV8Ox6Y422R3S-CKWiiMfZouWyz84dqsjk5B8DZqzQ8hmjMIgeqWRPNvJqr_HeIa9ApTdksIucSY6OYhB2LHikU9xIssJgLm8dl4YEoancyi40RIcG-nvzIqS4yq-ua1qnh9vRITSkS7y8GjA/w400-h265/530-28.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #282625; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The west coast of Cap Corse</span></i></div></i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #282625; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Main road is rather an overstatement. It is in fact the only possible route down the west side of the Cape. The surface is badly maintained and pitted, whilst the edges are broken away. Sometimes a two foot high wall protects one, psychologically at least, from the drop down the cliffs into the sea, sometimes there is nothing a few wisps of scrubs. The road is so twisting that for much of the time we didn't get above second gear, driving in the centre of the road and feeling our way around the blind bends. Fortunately there was little traffic, mainly motorcyclists, a practical way to travel here or, the other extreme, coaches. At one point we stopped to admire the scenery, a drop to the sea, the cliffs covered by the maquis, with views across to little hamlets on the other side of the inlet, with snow showing on the distant mountains. Far away, appearing and disappearing as it rounded the many twists, we watched the approach of a coach. As we stood by the roadside, we were passed by a coach making its descent. It was really quite exciting from our vantage point as they got closer and closer until they finally met, with much hooting, on a 45 degree bend, with rock on one side and absolutely nothing on the other. They passed eventually, and the drivers must be skilled at such incidents. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #282625;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">At the hotel in Centuri we heard the staff listening to the meteo and bringing in all the umbrellas from the terrace where we ate last night, saying a storm was due. I don't know where or how it arrived, but it certainly did! On the narrow coast road it was quite scary being buffeted by really strong winds that came and went as we rounded different sections of the cliff face. On the sea, white horses were whipped up and raced along the coast. Sometimes whirlwinds of foam spiralled up from the surface of the sea and flew along, gathering momentum as they raced inland. It was very impressive, and the distant mountains turned black against the pale grey sky. A dust cloud blew up and completely smothered the car, turning quickly to a pale mud as it started to rain. Parked by the roadside, Ian opened his door to take a photo and our map of Corsica was whipped from the car by the wind and carried in a split second far out to sea. I was terrified for a moment as Ian dived to try to rescue it! </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282625; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, we can now confirm that Ian's navigational skills have been blown right off Corse. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #282625; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We arrived at Pino, a pleasant little village with little alleys leading to old houses scattered up and down the hillside. We parked on the road and climbed down to the church - no roads in the village - past tumbling buildings with rusty wrought-iron gateways with fig trees, olives, peach, orange and lemon trees growing in terraces below the village. Sheltered behind little drystone walls constructed from the local grey-green schist, little vegetable gardens were flourishing. We followed a little narrow lane up past eucalyptus trees and cactuses to a collection of tumbled cottages clinging to the cliffs above the sea, the wind whipping our jackets as we buffeted against the warm, mist-laden wind. One of the cottage doors stood open, and inside we could see a young man sitting at his computer, busy using the internet. It seemed so very incongruous!</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0lnzVO-1bZHg57Y_hQPUOolZ1usAA526SMe0aAr5Ozd9fDjBeh_z-Bt60L5okJquCpcuiX4MKHEJHmmSgwyaVN7g7zta8DFqJw5Wi6NBtCocE5YOd3l47ojABCuVnfJetogXctGfuyPaC5gkD-SzHcYa_lf-4oQ5y_DVg-lWmitAjyBGEQ/s1280/530-34-Pino.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1280" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0lnzVO-1bZHg57Y_hQPUOolZ1usAA526SMe0aAr5Ozd9fDjBeh_z-Bt60L5okJquCpcuiX4MKHEJHmmSgwyaVN7g7zta8DFqJw5Wi6NBtCocE5YOd3l47ojABCuVnfJetogXctGfuyPaC5gkD-SzHcYa_lf-4oQ5y_DVg-lWmitAjyBGEQ/w400-h250/530-34-Pino.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Pino</span></i></div></i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #282625; font-family: times; font-size: medium; white-space: pre-wrap;">Climbing back up to the road, we found the village shop, where we bought some cards and managed to replace our lost map. Here we paid 15 francs, about the price of a cup of coffee - brilliant value and a fraction of what we'd paid in Exeter for the one blown away. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: #282625; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: #282625; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXxVD1zap2MvX1qztdfeB-OFpND5qWvyIsbNsoFY5ZynmE-pUrlJo2UL1539z5QY_AsjxAGjKcsUKyZ-YAF5v1TX7C53DxSw7zqifE2xxG8qGNM-B0Ekuap93_3XfgjrEFJmEOrY4YxeGg706x_OBxO2Arngj6kpruz23wq-6ID-GquXXbA/s1280/530-33.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="1280" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXxVD1zap2MvX1qztdfeB-OFpND5qWvyIsbNsoFY5ZynmE-pUrlJo2UL1539z5QY_AsjxAGjKcsUKyZ-YAF5v1TX7C53DxSw7zqifE2xxG8qGNM-B0Ekuap93_3XfgjrEFJmEOrY4YxeGg706x_OBxO2Arngj6kpruz23wq-6ID-GquXXbA/w400-h271/530-33.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #282625;">The coast road near Pino</i></div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: #282625;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">We continued down the coast. As it was raining heavily at this point, we pulled off the road and picnicked in the car with a magnificent view of the white-capped waves in the sea below and the white-capped peaks of the mountains beyond where the snow was still packed in their crevices. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times;">A little later we again parked and forced our way into the
tight packed maquis by the roadside to "faire pipi". It had stopped raining and the herbs and
shrubs gave off a lovely perfume. Apart
from the many flowers there was wild fennel, sage and rosemary plus many I
didn't recognise.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Beside the road too on the outskirts of Pino and other
villages through which we passed were many family tombs, almost tiny houses amongst the
scrub, which staggering neglected down the hillside. There was also for each village the necropolis
where, as in northern <st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain,</st1:country-region> there were sealed tombs stacked one above the other, also on the hillside outside
the village.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The wind was by now frighteningly strong as an arrived at Nonza,
a little village perched in an unbelievably precarious position on the cliffs,
the walls of the houses rising straight up from the vertical cliff face, the
waves way way below.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RhxpnfupLnuyi-LowTYbkqiBAbnog3C0l2XUM6lcJwx9bwLtEo6vs6nNfeUzCstvBMHO7UTvnvp2MdSSHx9V3qjQJkpAH_HxKG_MlxUwMF2tmUXvndYlOIjCcVRWXWMKLgz7OEXQQq4FUpb7KIsE3dMdEum87KlDNzx1MMDUO7FFq1HD1w/s1280/540-02-Nonza.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1280" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RhxpnfupLnuyi-LowTYbkqiBAbnog3C0l2XUM6lcJwx9bwLtEo6vs6nNfeUzCstvBMHO7UTvnvp2MdSSHx9V3qjQJkpAH_HxKG_MlxUwMF2tmUXvndYlOIjCcVRWXWMKLgz7OEXQQq4FUpb7KIsE3dMdEum87KlDNzx1MMDUO7FFq1HD1w/w400-h260/540-02-Nonza.jpg" width="400" /></a></span><p><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Nonza</span></i></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We were blown sideways as we walked across the village
square to the <st1:placetype w:st="on">church</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Saint Julie</st1:placename>, patron saint of <st1:place w:st="on">Corsica</st1:place>,
and of Nonza in particular. We looked
back from the steps of the church to the wild and windy sea, turned the handle
of the church door and entered into a beautiful silent baroque church with
candles burning before the statue and reliquary of Saint Julie, the strong
smell of burning incense, oil paintings of religious scenes, a main altar with
flowers and statues of Our Lady, the Sacred Heart, Saint Theresa and Saint
Roche, a haven of peaceful tranquility. We bought a postcard of Saint Julie
for my sister Julie's birthday on the 20 May - it seems Saint
Julie's feast day is the 22 May - and
went to the little café on the town square to shelter from the wind and the
rain whilst writing postcards and where Ian set the locals right about the
height of their highest mountain Monte Cinto - 2706 metres. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1hce4pvhYmQt9yd2MmRDf1tNAkkETjxFAGamlVvjHDdY_B3_t5V16wmUYmlre_Zn2QfBegHixEcwPnXiyd8nONxtSaFCiYS_byq2gdsiF22wJNG07TXJ2HyRTzOydbSGEpE0_zRnsGEKZ4tAuxjEXBZZbF7JHhxmyfsfelDh8EIAuq6cTA/s1280/540-01-Nonza.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="1280" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1hce4pvhYmQt9yd2MmRDf1tNAkkETjxFAGamlVvjHDdY_B3_t5V16wmUYmlre_Zn2QfBegHixEcwPnXiyd8nONxtSaFCiYS_byq2gdsiF22wJNG07TXJ2HyRTzOydbSGEpE0_zRnsGEKZ4tAuxjEXBZZbF7JHhxmyfsfelDh8EIAuq6cTA/w400-h265/540-01-Nonza.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Fontaine de Sainte Julie</span></i></div></i><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We then explored the little alleys and narrow
steep passages and steps of the tiny town on the seaward side of the road. The feel of the place, in fact of the whole
of the area we visited so far, is Italian not French. The language may be French though we mainly
hear people speaking Corsican between themselves, which seems far more Italian than
French. The way of life, the names of
the villages, and the names of the people are all very Italian. In this village there were huge beautifully shaped
Italian pots filled with geraniums in flower or with small fig trees or orange
trees. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Everywhere was overrun with all kinds of flowering cactus. At
one point a resident had cut a way through the cliff path with a machete, leaving
huge hacked spiky cactus leaves to step over.
I found one shaped exactly like <st1:place w:st="on">Corsica</st1:place>
which I'm hoping to take home with me but it will probably dry out and be
pointless really – though it has a lovely point at the moment, just like Cap Corse! </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0xFn_JFW7G1SXsxyh20lPO5IeC6vnmqkLBAp5gjxjNasDYSFOdW7H95S33ayH_ec5uS-Yh5XEVVi3FDwOjM5Q9YNFClW8fdVW6XibeKGc6a5S6iTLrmnkbcNw4Lr70o2XCyozagWO1mDoJEzYUgZm1D__0f5lCZQdg7HGvt6zAqQTjzgqw/s1280/530-35.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0xFn_JFW7G1SXsxyh20lPO5IeC6vnmqkLBAp5gjxjNasDYSFOdW7H95S33ayH_ec5uS-Yh5XEVVi3FDwOjM5Q9YNFClW8fdVW6XibeKGc6a5S6iTLrmnkbcNw4Lr70o2XCyozagWO1mDoJEzYUgZm1D__0f5lCZQdg7HGvt6zAqQTjzgqw/w400-h259/530-35.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i>C</i><i>actus plants by the roadside</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We climbed up to one of the Genoese towers that surround the entire island and still stand as picturesque ruins. The wind was the strongest we've ever encountered and we, along with some people coming down, were forced to sit down on the steps to avoid being blown over. A man advised us not to continue unless we weighed at least 200 kilos. There was a rather frail lady aged 80, so she told us, halfway up, afraid to go on or back clinging to the rock face. Someone helped her down. We struggled to the top; the views were superb but it was frightening so we crawled back down to the relative safety of the houses, where our chief fear was of being hit by falling slates.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Then we descended among ruined terraces and lemon trees
full of fruit, down broken picturesque steps to the fountain of Saint Julie,
which came out of the rock face as two little springs. Tradition has it that Saint Julie was
martyred for her Christian faith by having her breasts hacked off and hurled
against the cliff face, from where two miraculous fountains sprang.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneOf9zHUypDhlY51VRUg0RKaiK967Tr1kFPIHRFBBX_Rb0SC0gBRMVjxcJJDTjAWB1HYr9keWeGaQXZKvwhdXBfsWruSt0CjXn4PfpHIOEEqCrEyovNSP6eAh34reOfPRvoGyuC-okRqDXAjS1CymJav9KZ3dsND1w0hvWGsx5DPL66lm3g/s1280/530-37-Nonza.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="871" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneOf9zHUypDhlY51VRUg0RKaiK967Tr1kFPIHRFBBX_Rb0SC0gBRMVjxcJJDTjAWB1HYr9keWeGaQXZKvwhdXBfsWruSt0CjXn4PfpHIOEEqCrEyovNSP6eAh34reOfPRvoGyuC-okRqDXAjS1CymJav9KZ3dsND1w0hvWGsx5DPL66lm3g/w273-h400/530-37-Nonza.jpg" width="273" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Nonza</span></i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Down here it was sheltered from the wind, and as the rain
had stopped it was quite warm and pleasant.
Nobody else bothered to clamber down so it was peaceful wandering the
uneven paths between the tiny walled terraces seeing the tumbled remains of
once prosperous houses long since abandoned, but where the fruit trees still
continued to flourish with nobody to collect their produce.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We returned to the car and continued with very great
trepidation along the coast road. We
reached a complete road blockage on a sharp bend stuck behind a coach halfway
round the bend. It was terrifying to see
the way the coach shook and rolled as it was blasted by the wind, exposed on
the bend. I held back, protected in some
measure by the cliff face. Someone
climbed down from the coach to see what was causing the holdup ahead of them,
and had to get down on his knees and crawl to avoid being blown away. We later discovered that a motorcyclist had
been blown off his bike, and people around the bend were helping him. Fortunately he stayed on the road and was
not badly hurt.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We followed down behind the coach - a good place to be as, if the driver could get round the bends, I knew there was nothing coming, and could follow. We eventually descended to sea level at <st1:place w:st="on">Saint Florent</st1:place> where we parked by the port de plaisance and found a little hotel nearby - nothing special, but clean with a shower at 220 francs per night.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The town seems very pleasant, with fishermen casting their
lines between the yachts and pleasure craft.
We sat, sheltered by a beautiful fragrant hedge, warm in the evening sun sun as it
set behind the mountains, eating salad rolls we'd bought accompanied by a
bottle of Corsican wine, watching the fishermen pulling fish from the harbour as fast
as they could bait and cast their
lines. They all had mobile phones which
they use no doubt to tell their wives how many fish to expect to cook for supper.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Having finished the bottle, we lay on our stomachs
soaking off the Corsican label for my diary in the water lapping the harbour
wall, then walked around the harbour and the town up to the citadel in the
gathering dusk. The citadel is a ruin, overrun
with weeds - actually very beautiful, a mass of big yellow daisies, red
poppies, mauve mallow and white stitchwort. Amongst all of these are shapely
pineapple palms and succulent cacti niched in the tumbled walls.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZzQBzWTbe-10-THYGSOy5bfrmx-nuPOQIvSiDSkZ5x-FFnwsXUuVAz3QKJMq0Nj83SqfL6XTuhSWsqaOjJDURU0TM2UcCsKmmBR7jEK2MipMMrko6Fiy8_0oTYW3ndwwdwjNJvCZ7TRLjl7UkAhiJXIEJBYmvWFU2xuIyPJbHi1sRj90T5Q/s1280/540-03-St-Florent.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1280" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZzQBzWTbe-10-THYGSOy5bfrmx-nuPOQIvSiDSkZ5x-FFnwsXUuVAz3QKJMq0Nj83SqfL6XTuhSWsqaOjJDURU0TM2UcCsKmmBR7jEK2MipMMrko6Fiy8_0oTYW3ndwwdwjNJvCZ7TRLjl7UkAhiJXIEJBYmvWFU2xuIyPJbHi1sRj90T5Q/w400-h260/540-03-St-Florent.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Saint Florent, harbour, soaking off the wine label</span></i></div></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Seeing a phone box, we rang Ian's mother, our daughter Kate and our friend Geneviève in Caen to tell them how beautiful Corsica is and how mellow we felt after a bottle of Corsican wine from plastic yogurt pots on a bench by the harbour. It really was nice, and a fraction of what it would have
cost to eat supper in a restaurant even without wine. Back at our hotel Ian went to sleep leaving me
to catch up on our diary.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Wednesday, 19 May, 1999.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span>I was too tired to write up about Tuesday last night. We are now in Calvi so I'm writing sitting in
bed while Ian takes his morning shower. This
room is okay, having en suite shower. loo etc.
Like all the others it is marble tiled</span><span> </span><span>for coolness </span><span>like those in </span><st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region><span>. The outlook here is vile. It's in a side street and overlooks a yard
were rubbish is stored and our view is onto the tatty side wall and staff staircase
of the adjoining property. Last night we
left the window open as it was so hot, only to discover on our return that it stank
of stale food, as the extractor fan for the adjoining property's restaurant kitchen
blew directly into our room. We are on
the ground floor and have a TV and even a fridge and a cooker. The standard price seems to be 200 francs per
night. The hotel is called Bel Ombra.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Yesterday we ate breakfast on the terrace of our Hotel d'Europe
in the hot sunshine with a view on to the port. Nearby was a terrain de petanque where already a group of
local men were busy playing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Having got some money from a cash machine and stocked up on
local food from the supermarket, which included replacing our local Corsican
wine with one produced at Patrimono, a neighbouring village to Saint Florent, we drove
through the tiny town and along pretty narrow rural lane to the little Cathédrale
de Nebbio, built in the 11th century in a simple romanesque style, sitting by the valley
surrounded by olive trees and cypresses. There was little habitation
around. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwHKEswyyo7du_muN4gGKn_xGrJ77MP6eGlUnKVJ0cOqMajrfSFbKxBBnNpxRHjN749MTQVITaJlB4iAORTGgePeCV6iO35sOsKdmuvZCnM5dNG83sEBan9SPz-LPaMW0swMEUgSk8fmQaAc1vLHMphsN55HHMVEamy3ZsBuidUcmg49d-w/s1280/540-04-St-Florent.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1280" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwHKEswyyo7du_muN4gGKn_xGrJ77MP6eGlUnKVJ0cOqMajrfSFbKxBBnNpxRHjN749MTQVITaJlB4iAORTGgePeCV6iO35sOsKdmuvZCnM5dNG83sEBan9SPz-LPaMW0swMEUgSk8fmQaAc1vLHMphsN55HHMVEamy3ZsBuidUcmg49d-w/w400-h258/540-04-St-Florent.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Saint Florent, <span>Cathédrale de Nebbio</span></span></i></div></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Opposite was a little house with
its patio shaded by a tangling vine sprawling across a frame constructed above
it. There were roses in the garden and
wild flowers in the hedgerow. Next to
the cathedral was an orchard of fruit trees.
The countryside was deserted, and surrounding the valley were the steep
rolling distant hills of what for all the world was a Tuscan landscape. We parked in the shade beneath one of the
olive trees and stood in the already hot morning sunshine with birds singing,
looking around at the peaceful scene. <st1:place w:st="on">Corsica</st1:place> is
indeed very strange. The only thing
about it that is French is the official language. Otherwise it is in all respects an Italian
isle. The surnames on the war memorials
in the churches, on the graveyards, on the official notices pinned up on the
village centres are all Italian though they may have French forenames. The people tend to look Italian, being small
and dark, and when taking talking to each other in village shops or bars or in
groups around village fountains they are almost certainly speaking Corse, which
sounds to our ears rather Italian than French.
The side door of the cathedral was open. Inside it was simple, decoration being
painted onto the plaster. A couple of artists
were busy with restoration work of which it was in great need. Already a start had been made at repainting the walls white around the central
frame over the altar where the oil painting of the Virgin and Child was to be
placed. We watched as they balanced
precariously on ladders and steps on the altar, trying to fit the painting back
into its frame.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The most bizarre thing we have yet seen is the illuminated
reliquary of St Florent. Here they have
the entire body, the face of white leathery skull still covered in skin. The body has been dressed in rich robes,
the arm bones and shin bones showing through the gold lace covering them. He even wears red velvet shoes and lies on
his side in 18<sup>th</sup> century clothing in bright silks. He had his sword and helmet and was a sort of
very baroque flamboyant soldier figure. In reality however he was a Roman
soldier martyred in the third century. How genuine could the reliquary be?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We returned through the town and continued up to the
hillside town of <st1:city w:st="on">Oletta</st1:city> from where we have beautiful
views down onto the reservoir of Padula and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Gulf</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">St. Florent</st1:placename></st1:place>.
Up here it is cooler but hazy. Like all the towns, the streets are steep and narrow
and unsuited to cars. Dogs slept by the war memorial in the village square while
someone filled their bucket at the fountain. Allotment gardens flourished with early
vegetables growing, a couple of horses made best use they could of a small grassy
paddock rising at a very steep incline in the village. Geraniums and washing flourished wherever
they could get a foothold. People stood in the square chatting but there were no
tourists around.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We drove up to the chequered church of San Michele de
Murato, built around 1280 on the summit of a maquis-covered hill with views
down into valleys on all sides. The
church was not open but well worth a visit, both for its imposing situation and
its design. It is chequered, being
constructed from blocks of green schist and white limestone of very mixed
sizes. The effect is remarkable; around
the lintels and corbels there is relief carving, very clear on the schist but
more weathered on the limestone. At some
stage restoration work has been carried out and the tower raised. This is a pity as it is now out of proportion
and the wrong colour schist has been used, being a far paler stone than the
dark green of the rest of the church.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdKfRW1oxeZcb0ro16CqyjXPQSSp9t7JdFvRh5zXVrglLilXQBZ3tSMF03cTF-VoXQf2DIz4ee7G9iu8tfgbKq73NKUmfty94GxUY5ABuezun5WGYan35MdwXd0jE3wLS8bNP_yRRtWbpZhOSYQ_riH9lmgTeaQxwOMA8cIOKlETU9EZ_GA/s1280/540-05-Murato.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdKfRW1oxeZcb0ro16CqyjXPQSSp9t7JdFvRh5zXVrglLilXQBZ3tSMF03cTF-VoXQf2DIz4ee7G9iu8tfgbKq73NKUmfty94GxUY5ABuezun5WGYan35MdwXd0jE3wLS8bNP_yRRtWbpZhOSYQ_riH9lmgTeaQxwOMA8cIOKlETU9EZ_GA/w400-h263/540-05-Murato.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmx3f9CjgEptEWIBcmbFwg7umTxq5OwHuXFMajKLgfnhsTzIfcjEluwuxT7MOX9uNhaVwuzdlADKOzkE2r-rcZZwtWI-Zkfl79RosgK_88X0vAHQAf9khX0Wawchdf-iN5CmjlfTJCK-T9hxhYEAZ0y5z3n-pBxCFQyZVu2DDv3aDANhLyg/s1280/540-06-Murato.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1280" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmx3f9CjgEptEWIBcmbFwg7umTxq5OwHuXFMajKLgfnhsTzIfcjEluwuxT7MOX9uNhaVwuzdlADKOzkE2r-rcZZwtWI-Zkfl79RosgK_88X0vAHQAf9khX0Wawchdf-iN5CmjlfTJCK-T9hxhYEAZ0y5z3n-pBxCFQyZVu2DDv3aDANhLyg/w400-h280/540-06-Murato.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Murato, San Michele de Murato</span></i></div></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The sun had gone, and there was a chilly wind. The air was perfumed with the smell of the
flowers from the surrounding maquis, which it is delightful to look down upon,
covering the hillsides around with its green scrub through which the white
limestone protrudes here and there.
Sheltered from the wind, the purple and yellow flowers are humming with the
sound of invisible bees. As I stood
looking at a patch of rock I was startled to see a lovely little tortoise spread
on the rock, enjoying the warmth of the day. Even without the sun, out of the
wind it was warm. Is this a freak
domesticated tortoise which had escaped or are they indigenous to <st1:place w:st="on">Corsica</st1:place>? I'm now
looking for them everywhere; they are such lovely creatures. Lizards we are getting used to; they abound
and we hear them all the time, but usually only see their tails disappearing into
a crevice in the dry stone walls. The tortoise
however plodded around very slowly, picking off juicy yellow flower heads as he
went.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We continued into Murato, which proved less picturesque than other
hilltop villages we had passed through, so we returned to the church and took a side road off towards Rapale and Sorio. It proved to be less narrow than indicated on
the Michelin map and we stopped from time to time to admire views across the valleys
to the north. In Sorio we stopped by the
church, attracted by a sign to a "monument historique". A stony path led downhill between overgrown
fields and after about ten minutes we found a simple Romanesque chapel in the
undergrowth. The door was open and inside was quite bare except for a small
baroque altar decorated with frescoes, including presumably the saint to which
it was dedicated. On the way back up the
path we couldn't resist clambering into one of the fields and pulling down the
branches of a cherry tree to reach the fruit.
The stolen fruit tasted delicious!
We continued into the village with its stepped alleyways leading up
between the shuttered houses. An old man
greeted us and said that our walk would have been even better had there been
sun. A group of men were watching a
couple of workers on scaffolding who were painting the facade of the church - restoration
seems to provide the main employment in Corsica, and there was an animated
discussion about the most appropriate colour - a discussion that was a little
late as the workmen were making rapid progress even as we watched. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">We continued, and found a place by a
waterfall for a picnic lunch. The road then
came out onto a more open landscape with contorted white rocks breaking through
the scrub and few trees. Its course pursued
a level but winding route above the more densely covered land below. After we joined the main road and turned west
towards Ile Rousse, the landscape became even more spectacular, with white
</span><span style="font-family: times;">craggy mountains sparsely covered in scrub. This was the Désert des Agriates, a
very desolate area. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUcw2HVJcJu8R-Fbh2T2b9JushYvZPX2AL7uJxg_vWrIjgkBZwG0BDQpFpoHZN_vxxbhIUGdJsBy70FUR12qoq3PxOlsESwI78lwLePZRMdif1rgOvqTsXTtcV32dyO3McemH8eGyJDk9m3H0OR8Vum7bp3Nor1vQt8GUkBAeeR3Kvumhtw/s1280/540-08-Agriates.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1280" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUcw2HVJcJu8R-Fbh2T2b9JushYvZPX2AL7uJxg_vWrIjgkBZwG0BDQpFpoHZN_vxxbhIUGdJsBy70FUR12qoq3PxOlsESwI78lwLePZRMdif1rgOvqTsXTtcV32dyO3McemH8eGyJDk9m3H0OR8Vum7bp3Nor1vQt8GUkBAeeR3Kvumhtw/w400-h260/540-08-Agriates.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Désert des Agriates, in the background Mont Genova (421 metres)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnipI_o7ECiZHlMqMC5zX1bQ6ZQFbTAmmXyxEPktHmt126PWhiDz8fhbEevmT62mT4RcB543PMosBqRcebR0AEMnnbiEqlUIZmyXTqWuMCHmx0P4SsubA-KG6LOOAmyovV8w-2vhyXVwMSeR9e3Y-OFRZNe8_wjYFRmZ2gl2CyV2vDZIRZA/s1280/540-09-Agriates.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1280" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnipI_o7ECiZHlMqMC5zX1bQ6ZQFbTAmmXyxEPktHmt126PWhiDz8fhbEevmT62mT4RcB543PMosBqRcebR0AEMnnbiEqlUIZmyXTqWuMCHmx0P4SsubA-KG6LOOAmyovV8w-2vhyXVwMSeR9e3Y-OFRZNe8_wjYFRmZ2gl2CyV2vDZIRZA/w400-h248/540-09-Agriates.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Désert des Agriates, with Mont Genova</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXQB-Cay7CW7kwECjRn7yRWodjBDgIJol_-CV3Rgre31Q9op6VIUliPiyD3xNnOZcPDmAQgpT6-99NoMdBxTlFLjoi0vVihO7TwUPHmlNrgsZ4uolbumBZeT_AUyYBoEOVMdxi07bS7yN00V9iQP7BqwFPLDuKISoNjCUYmg6InJ3D4QMYA/s1280/540-10-Agriates.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXQB-Cay7CW7kwECjRn7yRWodjBDgIJol_-CV3Rgre31Q9op6VIUliPiyD3xNnOZcPDmAQgpT6-99NoMdBxTlFLjoi0vVihO7TwUPHmlNrgsZ4uolbumBZeT_AUyYBoEOVMdxi07bS7yN00V9iQP7BqwFPLDuKISoNjCUYmg6InJ3D4QMYA/w400-h263/540-10-Agriates.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Désert des Agriates, with road along mountainside in background</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfmJZckQq7jx_ZjAKNxovxxMPCD0GzF10-tk7KHZd_358DsRYIWIpWcqGMJYcS7ZPE1z6fTAeX7Xl3zfmHLUntGG5pcMBtXC_pkWjPbbbaT5cGm6xKa6778luaadprcecoYBQ9nmkwdoEd9sE8fQkW6-ox4Hvs-qy1AnPGQIV3bwFmDkETA/s1280/540-11-Agriates.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1280" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfmJZckQq7jx_ZjAKNxovxxMPCD0GzF10-tk7KHZd_358DsRYIWIpWcqGMJYcS7ZPE1z6fTAeX7Xl3zfmHLUntGG5pcMBtXC_pkWjPbbbaT5cGm6xKa6778luaadprcecoYBQ9nmkwdoEd9sE8fQkW6-ox4Hvs-qy1AnPGQIV3bwFmDkETA/w400-h261/540-11-Agriates.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Désert des Agriates</i></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Once this was crossed,
we picked up a fast coastal road towards the Ile Rousse, a bustling seaside resort
without much picturesque appeal as it had only developed under Paoli in the 18<sup>th</sup>
century. We were not attracted to stay
there nor in Algajola a little further along, so found ourselves edging
nervously along the narrow streets of Calvi, dodging the waiters crossing the
road with trays of drinks for the diners on the quay. We found a place to park by the citadel and
after a little searching found our hotel. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpXLJyqwVWjvZNbhaXV6Lqh53OcDogu93DL27rXKkStLtDCmHkPYs_3S-8nozOsa4VGIFYn1BnsfD5ovlUKkfyCBCpA4BHE5hC92XfScjsL-KkNzxBuDr6cEikdc4NGEcrex8Zjz81a4dO3-Oy5YuUrGeZQ9kqwrtsjnm3TOsMrMAvPbeng/s1280/540-12-Calvi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1280" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpXLJyqwVWjvZNbhaXV6Lqh53OcDogu93DL27rXKkStLtDCmHkPYs_3S-8nozOsa4VGIFYn1BnsfD5ovlUKkfyCBCpA4BHE5hC92XfScjsL-KkNzxBuDr6cEikdc4NGEcrex8Zjz81a4dO3-Oy5YuUrGeZQ9kqwrtsjnm3TOsMrMAvPbeng/w400-h260/540-12-Calvi.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Calvi</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i></i></div></span></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">There was no shortage of places to eat, but it was all Corsican fare, which is nice on occasion but monotonous if eaten all the time. In Calvi it is also overpriced, so we bought take-away pizza and, supplied with fruit - <span style="text-align: center;">bananas, cherries, tomatoes - we sat looking down at the rocks by the open sea below the walls of the citadel, watching the setting sun and supping our local wine from our plastic goblets. Then we explored the streets of the town and wandered along by the harbour, lined with tall palm trees and gaily coloured tables sporting huge umbrellas, where people sat enjoying "loup de mer" or langoustine, sipping chilled white wine. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJm8K8yCCMyIKtu7K6OV1NQl76nbzEwtBfhzPISH17KElhGb4MfMhVG5ZervmVEdZUocptXaUOTiQBGPEq50KnulxJvhR6vcJT759kdhDD5_EzrhhIw28i2cs4VGW9c-X4xgarPMKqF_rhzARVnLmVM1h8A64hQ2NDo7mAlTFPmfzjWEhK0w/s1280/540-13-Calvi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJm8K8yCCMyIKtu7K6OV1NQl76nbzEwtBfhzPISH17KElhGb4MfMhVG5ZervmVEdZUocptXaUOTiQBGPEq50KnulxJvhR6vcJT759kdhDD5_EzrhhIw28i2cs4VGW9c-X4xgarPMKqF_rhzARVnLmVM1h8A64hQ2NDo7mAlTFPmfzjWEhK0w/w400-h263/540-13-Calvi.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Calvi</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Wednesday 19 May (continued)</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> We are now on the terrace of a little restaurant overlooking the clear blue bay of Galeria, a tiny holiday resort with just a couple of campsites and hotels along the low cliffs. Behind, the crags of the mountains rise in bald jagged peaks with pink red-tiled holiday villas nestling among the scrub of the lower slopes. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The sea is a brilliant deep blue, and little boats are returning from fishing trips or bringing back holiday visitors from diving trips. Everywhere there is a slight smell of fish cooking as the beachside restaurants prepare their lunch menus. The sun is now high in the sky and very hot and bright. The beach below us looks pebbly, but it is in fact dried vegetation. What it is or where it comes from we have not worked out, it resembles coconut matting. Perhaps it is the husks of dried up cactus leaves.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We have now clambered across the dead vegetation to the water's edge, where I have just paddled in the clear water that has still not warmed up for the summer. There is nobody on the beach and the breeze stops it from feeling too uncomfortably warm - it also blows the dried leaves and husks around, which is none too pleasant.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">From the harbour we hear the cries of the boatmen preparing to go out to sea and, further along the beach around the far edge of the little bay, families are, like us, sitting on the beach looking across the blue water to the maquis covered mountains,with the narrow coastal road to Calvi scratched along the side beneath the pink limestone crags.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This morning in Calvi, we left our belongings in the car, still parked below the citadel and strolled along beside the windy port. We watched a local fisherman raising his caisson, where he was keeping dozens of live lobsters until they were of a suitable size for eating. A customer stood on the quay shouting instructions as he extracted three or four of a suitable size, using a net and decanting them into a bucket, where their tendrils waved and their blue eyes looked around seeking a way of escape. The lady rejected several as being too small: "J'ai des invités, et ils aiment bien manger." The lesson is that, if you're a lobster, go on a low-fat diet and live to see another day. They don't look very appetising, so I've no great desire to learn how to eat them. Nobody sat at any of the little tables along the harbour, and the umbrellas were not yet up. It wasn't warm enough to take breakfast there so, replenishing our money and stores, we climbed to he citadel where we sat sheltered from the wind in a sunshine now almost </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">uncomfortably hot, watching the sailing boats in the bay, whilst eating croissants and pains au chocolat from our plastic yogurt-pot wine glasses!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We then looked looked again around the citadel, explored briefly last night. It is built right on the cliff top above the town with huge, tall walls rising from the granite upon which the town is built, though the hinterland is limestone. There are steep cobbled streets with steps and twists everywhere, revealing hidden corners. The cobbles don't make for easy walking. There is much restoration work going on, with ends of electricity cables sticking out of the walls all over the citadel. It is actually lived in with lines of washing hanging from the windows, and tiny wild cats scurrying away as we approached. We visited the large and very wide church of St Jean le Baptiste, again quite bare within, with whitewashed walls, a couple of side altars, and a few poor quality oil paintings. The atmosphere was very nice and restful however and the style very typical Italian </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Romanesque. The statue of the Virgin Mary was life-sized and clothed in blue silk with gold trimmings. Not very nice really - rather bizarre.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We climbed down, stopping to take a photo over the harbour and visit the oratory of St Antoine - empty but very pleasant. Down past the statue of Christopher Columbus, claimed on some dubious pretext by the Corsicans to have originated, not from Genoa as claimed by the history books, but from Calvi. Hence there are hotels and streets named after Colombo here - it is certainly a local name, </span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><i>Colomba</i> is a short novel by Prosper Mérimée</span><span style="text-align: left;">.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj226KMVHHNAGE1VElDHp169CdjAZlCx-sJYhZyjvWqFN2Yp9DNDPa7Nv7n5wa7JPlCFeNIwMT3lHEr_3KPZ_-9otEdJWN-0Z04-jb5lkcwmX_-NTKmTvCeXNUiwfzIuF5acORHTk7hjM8752RDufatYLjH7Gin99id-hC1vZE8frJNHytbAQ/s1280/540-14-Calvi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj226KMVHHNAGE1VElDHp169CdjAZlCx-sJYhZyjvWqFN2Yp9DNDPa7Nv7n5wa7JPlCFeNIwMT3lHEr_3KPZ_-9otEdJWN-0Z04-jb5lkcwmX_-NTKmTvCeXNUiwfzIuF5acORHTk7hjM8752RDufatYLjH7Gin99id-hC1vZE8frJNHytbAQ/w400-h259/540-14-Calvi.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><i>Calvi</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Back at the car, we drove out of Calvi, stopping to top up with petrol. In fact, since arriving we have only used eleven litres doing the entire Cap Corse and onward, mainly in second and third gear. I've not found the milometer on the car, so don't actually know how many kilometers we've done. The fuel cost was 70 francs - very good value for all we've been able to do. Then along the inland route, past the airport runway and up into the mountainous hinterland. There was hardly a vehicle anywhere as we drove up the twisting route over the pass of Boccadimarsolinu. The road surface was fine, but tight for passing oncoming vehicles and the tarmac ended abruptly at the edge. I was very nervous of my side wheels going over the edge, damaging the underside of the car. Eventually we reached the little hamlet of Galéria where we have actually enjoyed relaxing on the beach for an hour - who could not enjoy such peace and beauty, bathed in warm sunshine. However there is nothing here and nobody to talk to. I'd hate to stay here for a holiday. Such occasional experiences always convince me that I have a low boredom threshold. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVoxhBFv66jHsdrTwwFU3UTB53_IbxKTinIvXbucSESlX7DHRXfJIqleSPrskidQQtLefvMcptNmIja10bf8712FQYh4bF_yV2DxChMDYgooGEUTNf1d8EfQj4QCaKX5RPeYCVjflPTjay_Vjie6bq_5IuM5TqvV3hVIvBXNlY6onhpLOUQ/s1280/540-15-Galeria.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVoxhBFv66jHsdrTwwFU3UTB53_IbxKTinIvXbucSESlX7DHRXfJIqleSPrskidQQtLefvMcptNmIja10bf8712FQYh4bF_yV2DxChMDYgooGEUTNf1d8EfQj4QCaKX5RPeYCVjflPTjay_Vjie6bq_5IuM5TqvV3hVIvBXNlY6onhpLOUQ/w400-h264/540-15-Galeria.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Galéria</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">Ian has just finished a little sketch to accompany my text, so I'll finish now and we'll move on to Porto. [Mileage at </span><span style="font-family: times;">Galéria: 13282]. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It's 10.15 pm, and I'm sitting in bed in our hotel room in Porto, having just had a lovely shower to remove the dust and stickiness of the day. Ian is currently taking his shower. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This hotel is fantastic! We have a comfortable room with our own bath, shower and toilet for 150 francs a night, not much over £15.00! There is air conditioning if we want it - we prefer to keep the window open and hope there are not too many mosquitoes. The hotel is situated on the quiet road down to the little port with a most superb view across the valley to the massive rugged pink granite peaks towering way above, the sunset earlier causing them to glow a rosy orange, their peaks swathed in wispy clouds. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Our car is parked on the road outside, and other hotels and restaurants are scattered along the three-quarter mile long wooded road down to the marina. Downstairs there is a pizzeria with a little wooden veranda, set with supper tables, but at this time in the season it, along with many of the others along the valley, stands empty.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Our route here was unbelievable, both in terms of beauty and my courage in driving here. We left Galéria, and made steady progress along a well-made but twisting route to the top of the pass Col de Palmorella where we suddenly looked down to the sea with mountainous headlands covered in the ubiquitous maquis. It is full of honeysuckle and actually smells of honey. Looking back along the route we had taken, it appeared far more arid with a dry valley stretching below, littered with huge white limestone boulders and crags. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHG3UT6On1iERe0fT1uvFGbNGk3iLBPG5cC9AOyDco-0B4uV4JzseJ5ybRDXconf8yFPHa6Y1a6V-Y3tcW5UYnjIaoejeBdW99XuHxyY2hF6sTUSMmsCdNgW3rSG9ZUD5KD5eanodKz-eimQhggCjgdnsw2fDxCA5rfiYLVK0g70NMscc9mw/s1280/540-16-Col-de-Palmarella.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHG3UT6On1iERe0fT1uvFGbNGk3iLBPG5cC9AOyDco-0B4uV4JzseJ5ybRDXconf8yFPHa6Y1a6V-Y3tcW5UYnjIaoejeBdW99XuHxyY2hF6sTUSMmsCdNgW3rSG9ZUD5KD5eanodKz-eimQhggCjgdnsw2fDxCA5rfiYLVK0g70NMscc9mw/w400-h263/540-16-Col-de-Palmarella.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Col de Palmarella (408 meters), view north-east</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhboznT5Yimm1sWyixJY9tlDqDy7IYQ2AC9dtrTkcnKUaLSOaYh66ov0b-dKfUNVG1EBOP7JVSucfDrybgq8UcxqwdOCg6SeFzxr15yzkcP3ctynKA-0BpP_A1TqEBVq8i5Qx4RyFh5eVvHRSeHMsEUu9FfwtPGTZV60He1nEguOYPYvJUhCQ/s1280/540-17-Col-de-Palmarella.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhboznT5Yimm1sWyixJY9tlDqDy7IYQ2AC9dtrTkcnKUaLSOaYh66ov0b-dKfUNVG1EBOP7JVSucfDrybgq8UcxqwdOCg6SeFzxr15yzkcP3ctynKA-0BpP_A1TqEBVq8i5Qx4RyFh5eVvHRSeHMsEUu9FfwtPGTZV60He1nEguOYPYvJUhCQ/w400-h263/540-17-Col-de-Palmarella.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Col de Palmarella (408 meters), view to Golfe de Girolata</span></i></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">A French couple came and asked us what the route up had been like, because the route from Porto was terrifying. They were from Dunkerque and quite unused to such roads. They were reassured by us telling them it was OK, even for us from England, but I was terrified setting off on the next stretch. The road is a gash cut through the maquis, rock face to our left and a sheer drop at times to the blue sea, way below. It must count as the most beautiful route we have ever travelled, but the road surface is pot-holed and broken. There is either no barrier at all on the seaward side, or only six-inch high boulders marking the edge of the road. Every few yards the road twists at right angles round the rock face. It is single track with no passing places. If you meet a coach there is no alternative but to back up round the bend until you can find anywhere to squeeze in. This happened to me three times and I was torn between the terror of going over the edge or smashing the hire car on the cliff face. Passing other cars was just manageable but it was a nightmare with huge long coaches. What a terrible job for the coach driver, particularly in high season when there will be much more traffic about and it will be much hotter even than today. The day was indeed warm, and it was good to stop when we were able to pull off the road to get out of the car and feel the sea air. At the Col de la Croix we left the car and scrambled up through the maquis to an orientation table on the summit of a headland, with views back along the route we had come and forward toward the Baie de Porto with Les Calanches and Piana on the far side.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmSV01N8Pk4OTL79uM0PbJr7U6WnmqHNZy7BCAd0ZDIICEDRulAXx9FsfA72C-h-YA78x4ZF4mSf0hVHz4wKHGD2GK96l7ndLcTw3lOvJsm84FljcJoFmKCQ32nLvG_AMJA9Zg1mQBcYAqeK08__q-_4l6oc8oMOJdLsnGcUNtnzIc2wCNQ/s1280/540-18-Col-de-La-Croix.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1280" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmSV01N8Pk4OTL79uM0PbJr7U6WnmqHNZy7BCAd0ZDIICEDRulAXx9FsfA72C-h-YA78x4ZF4mSf0hVHz4wKHGD2GK96l7ndLcTw3lOvJsm84FljcJoFmKCQ32nLvG_AMJA9Zg1mQBcYAqeK08__q-_4l6oc8oMOJdLsnGcUNtnzIc2wCNQ/w400-h254/540-18-Col-de-La-Croix.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Col de la Croix (269 meters), view north to Girolata</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZkLZfSdyq8vvX-PLOg5ecOy63T80_shhvVc_8NZUJ6A-AfRUEdCK_gx4MaNUqj1gmsXvBxGOECbetQwwbvFGP-ffhmybBG4o0oO12Ruo5vBZ-L9gzLfEDAH8be7l9zHsDyTlhyKtbngSuBxPqa5ZRTsSCM2bNaQD4gR7S2kbvuJZeIi7sg/s1280/540-19-Col-de-La-Croix.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZkLZfSdyq8vvX-PLOg5ecOy63T80_shhvVc_8NZUJ6A-AfRUEdCK_gx4MaNUqj1gmsXvBxGOECbetQwwbvFGP-ffhmybBG4o0oO12Ruo5vBZ-L9gzLfEDAH8be7l9zHsDyTlhyKtbngSuBxPqa5ZRTsSCM2bNaQD4gR7S2kbvuJZeIi7sg/w400-h264/540-19-Col-de-La-Croix.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Col de la Croix, view south to Calanche</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ro_Rp8IgJNf7hKJrnnSCpUyo0cQvvKYLUBLJHQ6HJsyyNZ8-_-CZMtKnS5g8RkvxlnUDw9vIY4lh1oQ9V4F2GHrZIrl1mwYOsnLUySAWnrAxTJme-sWQpkSR_S5HAy6B1YxELwwHj5O2KvQR33b4X7jW9K4t0NZDQleSgG9HG93UUeP9Lg/s1280/540-20-Col-de-La-Croix.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1280" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ro_Rp8IgJNf7hKJrnnSCpUyo0cQvvKYLUBLJHQ6HJsyyNZ8-_-CZMtKnS5g8RkvxlnUDw9vIY4lh1oQ9V4F2GHrZIrl1mwYOsnLUySAWnrAxTJme-sWQpkSR_S5HAy6B1YxELwwHj5O2KvQR33b4X7jW9K4t0NZDQleSgG9HG93UUeP9Lg/w400-h258/540-20-Col-de-La-Croix.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Col de la Croix, view north to Girolata</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div>Beyond this point the road surface improved. We descended steadily and there were no more coaches. However, we had to assume them round every bend, so it was a very slow and exhausting descent to Porto. It's been well worth it. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU80OH2e1BIzTPmy-mp4OueNyWKKjE4ujUnS1pTWGRK7dbEEu9k88uDke5L5z2tdAsUyGVgLEn65uAy9M_iUzdwJMNIbW79SFseEh0INWmoLQFTWUxO6tzZX2z4HbATF6JFtYa9cilzn6clQ-e5wmoTbY6obkqNZQkVguJfuAbHir_zxIseg/s1280/540-21-Plage-de-Cospio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="838" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU80OH2e1BIzTPmy-mp4OueNyWKKjE4ujUnS1pTWGRK7dbEEu9k88uDke5L5z2tdAsUyGVgLEn65uAy9M_iUzdwJMNIbW79SFseEh0INWmoLQFTWUxO6tzZX2z4HbATF6JFtYa9cilzn6clQ-e5wmoTbY6obkqNZQkVguJfuAbHir_zxIseg/w263-h400/540-21-Plage-de-Cospio.jpg" width="263" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Plage de Bussaglia</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-bQEfipDoCzIeSsYs7kDtCFSdg_kJMyhbpi_xTJygZ6WAKLRjktjt1iFxlpFU9OeR2LANwq80BGRbgGmwGpBYKjV_pIO6Yha7v3UTSgiIkz3E9kTIIGMvkSBQCR6ok5dT9f1uzO_vhgIv4YjNWHeyiPvRX9WE3XCjHBNH9_R34BfFUEFoA/s1280/540-22-Porto-Capo-Orto.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-bQEfipDoCzIeSsYs7kDtCFSdg_kJMyhbpi_xTJygZ6WAKLRjktjt1iFxlpFU9OeR2LANwq80BGRbgGmwGpBYKjV_pIO6Yha7v3UTSgiIkz3E9kTIIGMvkSBQCR6ok5dT9f1uzO_vhgIv4YjNWHeyiPvRX9WE3XCjHBNH9_R34BfFUEFoA/w400-h264/540-22-Porto-Capo-Orto.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Porto, Capo d'Orto (1294 meters) from hotel window</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Having found this lovely hotel, we purchased all we needed at the little supermarket up the road and had a lovely meal in our room, looking out at the evening sun on the crags opposite, before walking down to the harbour to watch a beautiful Mediterranean sunset beside the black silhouette of the remains of the Genoese watchtower, found all around the coast of Corsica, constructed back in the 14th century. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTd7AJYrbMvbAbj6sms3EBjRDWUBsHQ-7x4oM4knaTID8nvxaLD015BgU0AHgKXly2jLH5PAtQei-BNz3kJGKLOyRytr57S8_L2YDHGCAPw_7R6xkRQt_hNeY9AgzSsVM0sjkVOdljfvnq1Oi2-o7VfzJV1_-6TQ-Pd1Y_NGUID16X1zT3Hg/s1280/540-23-Porto-Genoese-Tower.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="1280" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTd7AJYrbMvbAbj6sms3EBjRDWUBsHQ-7x4oM4knaTID8nvxaLD015BgU0AHgKXly2jLH5PAtQei-BNz3kJGKLOyRytr57S8_L2YDHGCAPw_7R6xkRQt_hNeY9AgzSsVM0sjkVOdljfvnq1Oi2-o7VfzJV1_-6TQ-Pd1Y_NGUID16X1zT3Hg/w400-h260/540-23-Porto-Genoese-Tower.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Porto, Genoese watchtower</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ps7CcQlBYYe6bR-XIBPaWWhtVTpzzDbVjrR6-ASKGaVsUbt3gLBYUkmBYZ8VhYE1FngQIkK_hk_6XRxLlW7tBkKykLEK2q9h_bI1IQMBtxgYmhwwPjYZSw7YV1MKZEkxnb2QJf5Q-lLqEUKj9ss03ArAJby921HOeXhIEm2iNZkX-Q6Ekg/s1280/540-24-Porto-Sunset.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ps7CcQlBYYe6bR-XIBPaWWhtVTpzzDbVjrR6-ASKGaVsUbt3gLBYUkmBYZ8VhYE1FngQIkK_hk_6XRxLlW7tBkKykLEK2q9h_bI1IQMBtxgYmhwwPjYZSw7YV1MKZEkxnb2QJf5Q-lLqEUKj9ss03ArAJby921HOeXhIEm2iNZkX-Q6Ekg/w400-h264/540-24-Porto-Sunset.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Porto, sunset</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RQY5NZ_tGwSRKIvHc3x0pYnezgzE39NyAj8U9JXSEWUIOXOVWaLVWUPdOpyy89e3UL0I3PDux4erJNhbjjkGaPn-owFCi_xpX8GyRhcG74Zdn_HjR5hf5MdTIP_M6Yysi96DI9x9LQFhvbvJtdLrCMvubuXedesurfZ9QIQXIHLtgk8FAg/s1280/540-25-Porto-Genoese-Tower.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1280" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RQY5NZ_tGwSRKIvHc3x0pYnezgzE39NyAj8U9JXSEWUIOXOVWaLVWUPdOpyy89e3UL0I3PDux4erJNhbjjkGaPn-owFCi_xpX8GyRhcG74Zdn_HjR5hf5MdTIP_M6Yysi96DI9x9LQFhvbvJtdLrCMvubuXedesurfZ9QIQXIHLtgk8FAg/w400-h259/540-25-Porto-Genoese-Tower.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Porto, Genoese watchtower</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We climbed up to the tower in the cool of the evening to gaze along the coast and the route we had travelled this afternoon. Then to look where we have to travel tomorrow - more of the same, I fear! At least it keeps such a beautiful place from becoming a tourist Mecca, but there were several coaches parked down by the harbour. As a visitor it is certainly the easiest way to admire the coastline, but so dangerous to everyone else.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Looking back at the marina, all the lights of the little hotels and restaurants were on, reflecting in the harbour where pleasure boats were neatly moored. There were people around, either eating or, like us, strolling around in the comfortable cool of the gathering dusk. A perfect time for such a holiday, but in July or August it will be packed and driving an even greater nightmare.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We have just discovered how the air conditioning works and have reduced the room temperature from 24 degrees to 16 - much more comfortable, even if we still think in Fahrenheit. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p></p>
1. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-1-bastia-to-porto.html">Bastia to Porto</a>.<br />
2. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-2-porto-to-zonza.html">Porto to Zonza</a>.<br />
3. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-3-zonza-to-corte.html">Zonza to Corte</a>.<br />
4. <a href="https://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.com/2022/09/corsica-1999-4-corte-to-bastia.html">Corte to Bastia</a>.<br />
Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-4778148449198522152021-03-10T13:09:00.000+00:002021-03-10T13:09:05.760+00:00Jill and Ian - fifty years together<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLVB2i_XsckM4lRDvm2g1CQBVBFp3n7ixmKHGFHd79BoAc7BrMnBL0aCtFQo1uduxLkc3VIPP5I_GCw6aI4Ai0sPrzZ7pw2ksjSvQqTVoH5AY658GxNZPEviTpLkgptdDNxoBf/s1280/Gold-08.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="963" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLVB2i_XsckM4lRDvm2g1CQBVBFp3n7ixmKHGFHd79BoAc7BrMnBL0aCtFQo1uduxLkc3VIPP5I_GCw6aI4Ai0sPrzZ7pw2ksjSvQqTVoH5AY658GxNZPEviTpLkgptdDNxoBf/s320/Gold-08.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center">
Our wedding photo - the baby was not really ours<br />Emma was loaned by Ian's school friends Sheron and Colin</div><br /><div align="justify">
On St Patrick's day 17 March 1971 Jill Simpson and Ian Maxted were joined in unholy matrimony in Croydon Register Office, carefully timed for the library tea break so that as many work colleagues as possible, and several regular readers, could join family and friends by climbing through the library window to take the short cut to the register office. </div><br /><div align="justify">
Married life began in a three bedroom end of terrace house in Brampton Road, Croydon for which we paid the grand sum of £6,000. </div><br /><div align="justify">
We had met at work in 1967. Ian was working for a year as a trainee assistant in the reference department of Croydon Central Library while Jill was in the lending and children's sections. </div>
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The earliest photograph with both of us,<br />we are still in touch with Doug, centre right. </div><br /><div align="justify">
We each brought our own baggage into the little house - not just books and furniture but family, friends, experiences that we came to share and build on together.</div><br /><div align="justify">
Jill brought school friends from Coloma Convent School and the experience of the seminal year of 1962-3 as an English assistant in an idyllic village school in the heart of the French<span style="text-align: left;"> Jura.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div align="center">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tcTLtZ4Z3G3QHyjwPY5IfyUz9SvncByrqRpzQWgX4IH2K8ZT5EwzXqjfpGxSF0WdufXwbS7nsXtPLgTP9XbusM1cwxq3sMuOAKkT3lBxUq-hQCgk2-RZXZRE0FWnL3gr1i-7/s1280-h/ZIMG_9471.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421357486868364498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tcTLtZ4Z3G3QHyjwPY5IfyUz9SvncByrqRpzQWgX4IH2K8ZT5EwzXqjfpGxSF0WdufXwbS7nsXtPLgTP9XbusM1cwxq3sMuOAKkT3lBxUq-hQCgk2-RZXZRE0FWnL3gr1i-7/s400/ZIMG_9471.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />Christmas with Susanne and Roland 47 years later in 2009</div><br /><div align="justify">
Ian brought school friends from Colfe's Grammar School, the experience of three years in Keble College,
Oxford reading modern languages, and close links with Germany, both West and East.</div><br /><div align="justify">
We both went off to library school, Ian to Sheffield, followed shortly after by Jill who went to Manchester. At weekends we would meet up half way for walks in the Peak District. The friends we each acquired there still play a part in our lives, particularly the Sheffield group, who go under the name of Supsliskans and are maintaining a lively exchange of emails during Covid. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMKq9ggbhAeoB-zG4NW1A6QeP9jhmLDwZNezyEEapt8itShQ8OfYgsUPy1GL2qs9FUPEdim3aIaagRy-09c2TzzqCEVJNOqjzaksAhlwfqIDUxrXJ4z0tbNkvkXM7xvI5VR8cm/s1280/1993-160-29.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMKq9ggbhAeoB-zG4NW1A6QeP9jhmLDwZNezyEEapt8itShQ8OfYgsUPy1GL2qs9FUPEdim3aIaagRy-09c2TzzqCEVJNOqjzaksAhlwfqIDUxrXJ4z0tbNkvkXM7xvI5VR8cm/s320/1993-160-29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">
Supsliskan reunion at Sheffield, 1993. </div><br /><div align="justify">
Jill returned to Croydon, transferring to the reference library and we both acquired friends there with whom we are still in contact. Peter and Kate represent our Croydon friends on this occasion. </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhkXjTirbXJ4N-LkrAcW4BlCJTt4YmOQB7P7iRZzPOZ2HGr5gM2qdTIZAfZn8fe2Ae9H7uRuPSzQjWkMsyHoIFo8PJ-UY_-W6wDzSWBJ_ucqI7OYb4mfmUCj9QJiSblJt-XWv/s1280/BAKERS-2019-03-19f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhkXjTirbXJ4N-LkrAcW4BlCJTt4YmOQB7P7iRZzPOZ2HGr5gM2qdTIZAfZn8fe2Ae9H7uRuPSzQjWkMsyHoIFo8PJ-UY_-W6wDzSWBJ_ucqI7OYb4mfmUCj9QJiSblJt-XWv/s320/BAKERS-2019-03-19f.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />With Peter and Kate in Devon, 2019</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="justify">
Ian became a research assistant in Guildhall Library, later rising to the dizzy heights of assistant keeper of printed books. We also share friends from the City of London where Ian commuted each day.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Ralph_Hyde_1984_small.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="800" height="144" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Ralph_Hyde_1984_small.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/images/author/3716/bernard-nurse__main.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="314" height="141" src="https://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/images/author/3716/bernard-nurse__main.jpg" width="141" /></a><br /><br /></div>Two of our friends from Guildhall days, Ralph (1939-2015) for whom we chased round Europe</div><div style="text-align: center;"> searching for panoramas and Bernard </div><div style="text-align: center;">with whom we share a fascination with early prints and maps</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="justify">Our son Neil was born in 1974 and we gradually began to realise that London was not the ideal place to bring up children. </div><br /><div align="justify">
In 1976 the post of county local studies librarian for Devon was advertised and we moved to Exeter, Ian starting work on 2 January 1977. </div><br /><div align="justify">
We still feel as if we are on holiday here. Just weeks after our arrival we cycled along beside the canal to the Exe Estuary with Neil in a child's seat and basked in the winter sun looking out over the water. We could not believe our luck. </div>
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Devon - a much nicer place to bring up a young family, Dawlish, 1979</div><br /><div align="justify">
Jill obtained a cataloguing post in the University Library and, after Kate was born in 1978, managed to juggle a series of part-time jobs in the University Library, the Local Government Library at the bottom of our garden in County Hall and later in Exeter Medical Library. </div><br /><div align="justify">
Devon Library Services ran an active twinning programme with Calvados in France, and later Baranya in Hungary and this also extended our circle of friends on an international scale. Ian's controversial exhibition <i>Boney, or Napoleon through English eyes</i> which was shown in 1985 almost wrecked the twinning links but it only strengthened ties with library friends in Caen. For our friends in the DDR, the fall of the Berlin Wall meant they could finally visit us in Devon. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQs3sofSkN37_P9heDcbRmSv1E7b6Zby0M7zaEUSiD7zJ2s6qf7Qufi5g-enQkAohA5gy9g_THv0H2HiTOAf6ejTg6UEiI0yfMOLq7kQGJEAG579xVOMu6zkn1jgWuYCU1L8E/s1200/Bayeux-2014-04-24d.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQs3sofSkN37_P9heDcbRmSv1E7b6Zby0M7zaEUSiD7zJ2s6qf7Qufi5g-enQkAohA5gy9g_THv0H2HiTOAf6ejTg6UEiI0yfMOLq7kQGJEAG579xVOMu6zkn1jgWuYCU1L8E/s320/Bayeux-2014-04-24d.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">
Caen library friends in Bénédicte's garden in Bayeux, 2014</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKDSyXM6fqd447PSeuMMw4khp7dVzsoxSMSJaJ6sQyaZ14WStJAj0QFjZB_IL4qouZi5apvVD_nQEIlK1DL3Fjg0XiibpsJeS9Dz0QqdF4VnjLfjQepnGB4KL-PZTohqhFcB3o/s1200/Amft-1994-26.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKDSyXM6fqd447PSeuMMw4khp7dVzsoxSMSJaJ6sQyaZ14WStJAj0QFjZB_IL4qouZi5apvVD_nQEIlK1DL3Fjg0XiibpsJeS9Dz0QqdF4VnjLfjQepnGB4KL-PZTohqhFcB3o/s320/Amft-1994-26.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">German friends Hubert and Sigrid visited us from Weimar soon after the Berlin Wall came down.<br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="justify">Our work also brought us into contact with American friends Merriol, Doug and family who own Lewtrenchard Manor in west Devon, the home of the writer Sabine Baring-Gould. Merriol who, like Jill, worked in a medical library is the granddaughter of SBG and we have worked on projects with the family library. During our travels we added Karen and Doug, and Sandra and Larry to our American friends, meeting up with them in the Languedoc, Hungary and Morocco.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW587rEmeChiugqcr1Mdv-4r__k2rBx6o02r4d6fZAOU_uJEnX2ukUV3AOOVutOrMVX2Nw4UFNnvaibGwuSLxn4u0OlIRHd90UdaBweLbRyvWxLuFYndZlZYPuhxvLUfSPnttt/s1280/LEW+South+front+2018-08-17a.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW587rEmeChiugqcr1Mdv-4r__k2rBx6o02r4d6fZAOU_uJEnX2ukUV3AOOVutOrMVX2Nw4UFNnvaibGwuSLxn4u0OlIRHd90UdaBweLbRyvWxLuFYndZlZYPuhxvLUfSPnttt/s320/LEW+South+front+2018-08-17a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">
Lewtrenchard Manor, Devon</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify">
Kate graduated from Bath Spa University in 1999 with a degree in music and teaching. She went on to have a gap year travelling in Asia and to work with excluded and vulnerable children in Eastbourne, Brighton and Exeter where she now lives with her partner Matt and children Pippa and Sennen. </div>
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Kate blown away by her academic achievement, 1999.</div><br /><div align="justify">
Neil graduated from Keble College Oxford in 2000 with a degree in chemistry and father and son contrived to collect their MA and MSc at the same ceremony to the delight of Ian's 88 year-old mother.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOSPXhtYuwn8D2Lv3R2CU-Pg6osGC13vUi17DGdBB3Vq4PY-77uJWQE1UwSt9R3L37Qyx5G8Jpwn2APYTpM-g1CDspo_Av7l_54wDB7i3yr_50kXlFT9v0znYkb-9on8E2IBY/s1280/Gold-01.jpg" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOSPXhtYuwn8D2Lv3R2CU-Pg6osGC13vUi17DGdBB3Vq4PY-77uJWQE1UwSt9R3L37Qyx5G8Jpwn2APYTpM-g1CDspo_Av7l_54wDB7i3yr_50kXlFT9v0znYkb-9on8E2IBY/s320/Gold-01.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">
Neil and Ian graduate together, 2000<br /><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">
After obtaining his doctorate and working in various research posts in chemical plants in Didcot and Hull, Neil now lives in Beverley with his Sri Lankan wife Jeevani and their two daughters Deyvika and Indika. We attended their wedding in Sri Lanka in 2003, and afterwards there was a reunion in the garden of the nunnery in north Oxford where they had first met, a rare opportunity to bring together family, friends and work colleagues. </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirahaKRuG6cfeAudmbRAmOZ9YhDODo2uYDL-dPwjMQIKdOkUyxQhd6eHMxv6sE9Dqcim1OmRS0PN7zK93ZO9wN7yRnuwgrLOx6Iz5tNXmcoW4-QgiNPsD-ZPWav-tA46JIBuUJ/s1280/880-28-Oxford-2003-07-05.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirahaKRuG6cfeAudmbRAmOZ9YhDODo2uYDL-dPwjMQIKdOkUyxQhd6eHMxv6sE9Dqcim1OmRS0PN7zK93ZO9wN7yRnuwgrLOx6Iz5tNXmcoW4-QgiNPsD-ZPWav-tA46JIBuUJ/s320/880-28-Oxford-2003-07-05.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Family and friends gather in Oxford to celebrate Neil and Jeev's wedding, 2003</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify">Gatherings of three generations of our "nuclear family" are all too rare, mainly concentrating around the Christmas break, although even this was not possible in Covid year.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FroL6eqT0re7uumCP0mfXA3LjswTDKzGdRfVjjidPV9LX7CFWBkEoowM7spQzGevP1-lVwWEosrylUD9NSWByIXodGewVwM1diHRXbs1cYto4eeNF7y99QVS54fvXZAqb6KG/s1280/2018-12-23l.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FroL6eqT0re7uumCP0mfXA3LjswTDKzGdRfVjjidPV9LX7CFWBkEoowM7spQzGevP1-lVwWEosrylUD9NSWByIXodGewVwM1diHRXbs1cYto4eeNF7y99QVS54fvXZAqb6KG/s320/2018-12-23l.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jill and Ian with children and grandchildren in Killerton Chapel, Christmas 2018</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><span>We both retired in 2005 with plans for our own gap year. In fact on Ian's 60th birthday in July we held a gap year party in the Coaver Club at the bottom of our garden. Many of you reading this will have been present at the event, which gathered together once more both family and friends. </span><div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcaE87aV5gkTS1pVdT3s_JWGLfRjLWwnpE9Db6mN1O_uuRehl1gZ1odRBk8-CQIr50PgutuRnMqWjVfmoxYN_3Xa9C1FatCttFPHy3K_Jr_XmbKm7u4Wbm3dfv4tpMyTSKCm4Z/s2048/IMG_0577.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcaE87aV5gkTS1pVdT3s_JWGLfRjLWwnpE9Db6mN1O_uuRehl1gZ1odRBk8-CQIr50PgutuRnMqWjVfmoxYN_3Xa9C1FatCttFPHy3K_Jr_XmbKm7u4Wbm3dfv4tpMyTSKCm4Z/s320/IMG_0577.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Another gathering of family and friends after our retirement, 2005</div><div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJ1x6UjZjOAPZgodfipR9x9IPwLmRVSU8MgYjZInL-l9kIbzc431rFWDjRKoNLGmhay2DZYNX1DbxvXzli5hJA3UXTAjjKES-oAGnt8mdGdVW4TgeD_4g1mNSQiYBR9D4QmY1/s2048/IMG_0589.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJ1x6UjZjOAPZgodfipR9x9IPwLmRVSU8MgYjZInL-l9kIbzc431rFWDjRKoNLGmhay2DZYNX1DbxvXzli5hJA3UXTAjjKES-oAGnt8mdGdVW4TgeD_4g1mNSQiYBR9D4QmY1/s320/IMG_0589.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">
The Colfe's Latin class of '62 reunited in 2005<br />Peter, John P, Ian, teacher Ron, and John H.</div><br /><div align="justify">We had let the house out for a year to four library school trainees at the University and returned home after 13 months travel to find it miraculously intact. Finding it difficult to settle we repeated the process several times and, as most of you will know from Jill's blogs, have been travelling with our trusty little campervan Modestine for fifteen years exploring every country in the EU and several beyond, including Morocco and Turkey.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkQMxDgWE_hlqNj6oBHouQssxe11T4zKCVPmJvqkF0VniLTQaxPtSkZT_6hH5F8uyvDO7_2Wdd7jC4JcXGWS9RepMhxxV7vNjKLlYXsnjbJaOI0G_7LM9t3NtpDKRrGaWNdmD/s1280/2020-07-09e.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkQMxDgWE_hlqNj6oBHouQssxe11T4zKCVPmJvqkF0VniLTQaxPtSkZT_6hH5F8uyvDO7_2Wdd7jC4JcXGWS9RepMhxxV7vNjKLlYXsnjbJaOI0G_7LM9t3NtpDKRrGaWNdmD/s320/2020-07-09e.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">
Our home in Exeter, not a bad place to return to</div><br /><div align="justify">
Jill's ocular shingles, contracted in Romania in 2013 but only diagnosed in France, rather cramped our style, and Covid-19 has meant no trips abroad and few in Britain last year. </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><div align="justify">Some of our many library colleagues from our time working in Exeter will be reading this and need no reminding about the way things have developed for libraries since our retirement. Back from our travels in Exeter, Ian has been dragged into a so far vain attempt to reverse the act of cultural vandalism that in 2011 overturned the achievements of almost thirty years of local studies work for Devon. Jill urges him to get a life! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br /><div align="justify">
But quite what that life will be, remains to be seen as we have finally decided, with great reluctance, to take our leave of Modestine after seventeen years of loyal service. Recent trips had become a bit of a struggle and so our daughter Kate has welcomed the chance to take her off our hands even before we put her on the market with 217,867 miles on the clock. Saying goodbye to what has become more of an inanimate family member than Alexa could ever be has been almost a rite of passage, so we will conclude this account of our last half century with a few pictures of her on our travels. </div><br />
<div align="justify">We had hoped for an event to celebrate fifty years together, perhaps a rerun of our gap year party of 2005, but lockdown #3 makes this impossible. A Zoom event would be unmanageable, judging by many of those we have participated in, so we are continuing Jill's series of travel blogs with this "special edition". We haven't been able to include pictures of you all. It would have made this blog inordinately long and we have already asked a lot of your tolerance, so please don't be offended. Thank you all for your friendship over this half century, it has meant a lot to us at so many different times. </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"></div>
<div align="center"><b>--o0o--</b><br /></div>
<br />
<div>
Some images of Modestine on her travels. Click on the images or caption to visit the blog.<br />
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine4.blogspot.com/2009/05/andorra-and-llivia.html">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpArVQPak9iD9_MEUjrw5YILddG9BNpRbMzpRP4uPgcSAy42itKQVZK0RQCnOXs7PkTdyTXvJ3XlXhZaOjRcXt0olSa2BnjUPy_bQodNoCK59ecdf7GgjdvxJrR6vqnCY4_1lEQ/s400/ZIMG_7395.JPG" /><br />
Modestine gazes on the snowy heights of Andorra, 2009</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"><img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_1702.jpg" /><br />Modestine in Vaduz
car park, Liechtenstein</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html">
<img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_1723.jpg" /><br />
Modestine at the Furka Pass, Switzerland, 2005</a></center>
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<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/06/on-to-debrecen.html">
<img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/XIMG_1234.jpg" /><br />
Lenin blesses Modestine, Debrecen, Hungary, 2006</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/06/on-to-debrecen.html"><img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/XIMG_1342.jpg" /><br />Modestine studies
medicine, University of Debrecen, 2006</a></center>
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<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/06/around-lake-fert-and-sopron.html"><img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/XIMG_1661.jpg" /><br />
Modestine goes to Lake Fertö, Hungary, 2006</a></center>
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<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2005/12/starting-to-feel-like-christmas-at.html">
<img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_2653.jpg" /><br />
Causeway beside the Medterrenean with Sète in the distance, France, 2005</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2005/12/ups-and-downs-of-languedoc.html"><img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_2678.jpg" /><br />Modestine enjoys
some company, St Chinian Languedoc, 2005</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2005/12/ups-and-downs-of-languedoc.html"><img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_2743.jpg" /><br />Modestine by Lac du Salagou in the deserts of southern France, 2005</a></center>
<center><br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/01/farewell-to-2005-in-avignon.html">
<img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_2908.jpg" /><br />
Camping car or igloo, Avignon, France, 30 December 2005</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/01/catalonia.html">
<img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_3076.jpg" /><br />
Modestine admires the scenery, Collioure, Rousillon, 2006</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/02/ronda-welcome-in-hillside.html">
<img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_3318.jpg" /><br />
Modestine in difficulty, El Ejido, Spain, 2006</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/03/peek-at-picos.html">
<img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_3943.jpg" /><br />
Modestine goes to the mountains, Asturias, 2006</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/03/peek-at-picos.html"><img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_3954.jpg" /><br />Modestine takes a
rest, Picos de Europa, Asturias, 2006</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/05/menton-not-taking-it-on-chin.html"><img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/XIMG_0629.jpg" /><br />Modestine gets a
criminal record! Menton, France, 2006</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/06/tokaj-eger-visegrad-and-
esztergom.html"><img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/XIMG_1403.jpg" /><br />Modestine and Jill wait to board the ferry, Vác, Hungary, 2006</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/08/haugesund-to-bergen.html"><img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/XIMG_3138.jpg" /><br />Camping at
Lofthus, Norway, 2006</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine2.blogspot.com/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"><img src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EBq9covCU9o/RinbESBeySI/AAAAAAAAA2I/XhP-
WHEsHJw/s400/YIMG_0805.JPG" /><br />Modestine takes a rest at the top of the Simplon
Pass, 2007</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine2.blogspot.com/2007/05/down-dalmatian-coast.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHG_CJSbpYkOhwWlu9xU54oW66odvjezqfptobq_woCUGOOZwO90jM-_leyVQIREN-aHXQ6m6l4GMOgP0nJcGys9P8G-HrTlqQ9WMNnqG0g2KyTN6QIllJ0cc_sFwZSYhx8nwGg/s400/YIMG_1237
.JPG" /><br />Modestine waits patiently while we picnic, Dalmatian coast, 2007</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine2.blogspot.com/2007/05/split-and-dubrovnik.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTRteYEgg4fu2p3JukvgofQwgypFb8bHR75vpGpdTM7Okda9GHrxhAlN4Z6i0YKuv2T5JtEN7AXLQM9no9L9RBQtEe4s2SKIMxlwl5zZ8ftl95n1bz5HoNGEwP8qib3_GsfnOCA/s400/YIMG_1403
.JPG" /><br />Our £2 awning! Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2007</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine2.blogspot.com/2007/05/split-and-dubrovnik.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJKWgOCbW63cT5zXY4J9gCZiN3iXyMR7LLfmQoTzQ9nWvT_TGD3V5pobzQDdDh0RkEJSQn48i7kMurXHWfeYjQ96RuD_rg-H7BQBj9u6o1lfHU99MG_plM2Cymka1YH6oRUZs6A/s400/YIMG_1416
.JPG" /><br />Bloggers do it in the dark, Dubovnik, 2007</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine2.blogspot.com/2007/05/bosnia.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQ_iG1gI9FQiM4wu1slebyZEa1RoJh8q8YyX_deX8Q4o2abi5nS0JIaCNlxlb7MEsbdd0F0V_AJGlTKcWwHbW5oSiwEvNtPzVQjOGEkET2Y5gc3bK7YiDQ4V273PT_Jax6otWGQ/s400/YIMG_1455
.JPG" /><br />Modestine waits amidst the ruins, Mostar, Bosnia, 2007</a></center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.com/2011/10/moulay-idriss-and-meknes.html">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_uls-8rLHdzYO3TqK9W7WrFQJzoSEDuGYKgfOJQTcXs3WLiPuUGnkTH8MfsEkXh1Z9aO-iuQknA-yv0w0Pt4vfRW-P_mzPADUZOXmTWrvUD1WfxkCYNAyBwLH11thCRuYoHyJ/s320/ZIMG_G521.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><center>
Modestine stops for a doze, Dayet Aoua, Morocco, 2011</center>
<center>
<br /><a href="https://modestine.blogspot.com/2006/03/cantabria-to-gascony.html">
<img src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5230/891/320/IMG_4012.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" />
A breakfast guest at Lelin-Lapujolle, France, 2006</a></center><br /></center></div>
<hr />
Updated for 17 March 2021
</div></div>Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-73388202238919118492017-02-16T09:33:00.002+00:002017-02-17T20:29:19.910+00:00Name index to Maxted Travel blogsThis is one of a series of indexes to our travels, last updated 17 February 2017. <br />
<br />
<b>1. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/index-to-all-maxted-travel-blogs.html">Places. </A></B>The only complete index. <br />
<br />
<b>2. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/biographical-index-to-maxted-travel.html">People. </A></B>Some of the historical personages we have encountered on our travels. <br />
<br />
<b>3. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/subject-index-to-maxted-travel-blogs.html">Subjects. </A></B>A miscellany of oddities and other interesting discoveries.<br />
<br />
<b>4. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/name-index-to-maxted-travel-blogs.html">Names. </A></B>A key to proper names other than places and people.<br />
<br />
The links take you to the start of each posting. To find the place within longer postings it may be necessary to use the browser's "find" function (Ctrl+F). Where an account of a place extends over more than one posting, there are multiple index references. For some places with repeated visits (e.g. Caen) many references may be to visits to friends rather than description of the locality.<br />
<br />
Adelaide. War graves cemetery. France. Hauts-de-France. Villers-Bretonneux <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A> <br />
Aiguille. Cliff formation. France. Normandie. Etretat <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A> <br />
Alte Anatomie. Medical museum. Germany. Bayern Ingolstadt <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Alte Pinakothek. Art galleries. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
Andrássy ut. Streets. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
Appeninies. Mountain chain. Italy. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Assamkirche. Baroque church. Germany. Bayern Ingolstadt <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Ayinger Brauerei. Brewery. Germany. Bayern Aying. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Bar Convent. Catholic convent. England. Yorkshire. York. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
Barrage Vauban. Barrage. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Strasbourg. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Bassenthwaite. Lake. England. Lake District. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
Bassin de l'Arsenal. Canals. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Bastille. Prisons. Archives. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Batthanyi Tér. Squares. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-4.html"> 2015</A><br />
Batthyany Tér. Market hall. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Bavarian State Library. Library. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bad-tolz-and-munich.html"> 2012</A><br />
Befreiungshalle. Monument. Germany. Bayern. Kelheim. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/shingles.html"> 2013</A><br />
Biblioteca Ambrosiana. Library. Italy. Milan. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
Bibliotheque Alexis de Tocqueville. Library. France. Normandie. Caen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A> <br />
Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal. Library. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Bibliotheque Humaniste. Library. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Sélestat. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Bibliothèque Municipale. Library. France. Franche-Comté. Besançon. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
Bibliotheque Nationale. Fraincois Mitterand. Library. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Bibliotheque Nationale. Rue Richelieu. Library. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Bluebell Railway. Preserved railway. England. Sheffield Park. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
Book Romania Europe. Conference. Romania. Mamaia. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/constanta-and-black-sea.html"> 2012</A><br />
Bowes Museum. Museum. England. Barnard Castle. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
Brunszvik Palace. Houses. Hungary. Martonvásár. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Buchheim Museum der Phantasie. Art gallery. Germany. Bayern Bernried. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Budai Vigado. Concert halls. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
Budai Vigado. Folk dance performances. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
Budavári Palota. Palaces. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Budenz House Museum. Museums. Hungary. Székesfehérvár. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
Burnby Hall. Gardens. England. Yorkshire. Pocklington. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
Burton Constable Hall. Country house. England. Skirlaugh. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
Canal du Midi. Canal. Reservoir. Midi-Pyrénées. Revel. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
Ceaucescu’s palace. Palace. Romania. Bucharest. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/bucharest.html"> 2013</A><br />
Centrál Kávéház. Coffee house. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-11.html"> 2015</A><br />
Chapelle Russe Russian Orthodox church. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Vittel <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Château de Fère. Castle. France. Hauts-de-France. Fère-en-Tardenois. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/troyes-to-montmirail.html"> 2015</a><br />
Château de la Caze. Castle. Legend of eight damsels. France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Tarn. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
Cîteaux. Abbey. France. Bourgogne. Cîteaux. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
Cleeve Abbey. Cistercian monasteries. England. Washford. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
Col de la Forclaz. Pass, 1526 metres. France. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
College des Bernardins. Monastic foundations. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Corniche des Cevennes. Scenic route. France. Cevennes. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
Cornwall and Devon. Boundary marker. England. Cornwall. Kingsand. <A HREF="https://https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/plymouth-and-cremyl.html"> 2013</A><br />
Cosmic Calamity. Art installation. Italy. Milan. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
Cremyl Ferry. Ferry. England. Devon. Plymouth. <A HREF="https://https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/plymouth-and-cremyl.html"> 2013</A><br />
Croix de Lorraine. Monument. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Colombey-les-Deux-Eglise <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Crowns mine. Tin mine. England. Cornwall. Saint Just. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
Description de l'Egypte. Bookcase made to measure. France. Bourgogne. Mâcon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
Deutsche Museum. Science museum. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bad-tolz-and-munich.html"> 2012</A><br />
Devil’s Porridge. Munitions factory. Scotland. Gretna. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-1.html"> 2012</A><br />
Dombes. Principality. France. Rhône-Alpes. Trévoux. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
Ecole nationale des chartes. Archive schools. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Ecole Normale Superieure. University. France. Ile-de-France. Paris. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/paris-in-snow.html"> 2013</A><br />
Elizabeth Tower. Viewpoints. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
Englischer Garten Park. Germany. Bayern Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Eötvös Loránd University Library. Libraries. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Eötvös Loránd University Library. Libraries. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-3.html"> 2015</A><br />
ESTAC. Footall team. France. Champagne. Troyes <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/troyes-to-montmirail.html"> 2015</a><br />
Esztergom Basilica. Cathedrals. Hungary. Esztergom. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Familistère. Utopian community. France. Hauts-de-France. Guise. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/guise.html"> 2015</a><br />
Felsenkirche. Legend. Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Idar-Oberstein. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
Fisherman's Bastion. Promenade. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Földalatti Museum. Underground railways. Museums. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-10.html"> 2015</A><br />
Fontaine des Pisseurs. Fountain. France. Midi-Pyrénées. Lacaune. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
Fontenay Abbey. France. Bourgogne. Montbard <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
France Libre (1940-1943). Monument to establishment. France. Auvergne. Vichy. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/vichy.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Fuggerei. Social housing. Germany. Bayern. Augsburg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
Galla Placidia. Mausoleum. Italy. Ravenna. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Ganz Iron Foundry Museum. Iron foundries. Museums. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Garda. Lake. Italy. Peschiera. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-iseo-and-brescia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Gasometer Street. Street names. Italy. Padua. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Geevor Mine. Tin mine. England. Cornwall. Pendeen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
Géllert-hegy. Hills. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Giudecca. Island. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
Gödöllö Palace. Palaces. Hungary. Gödöllö. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
Gorges de Fier. Gorge with legend. France. Annecy. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
Haytor Granite Railway. Industrial railway. England. Devon. Dartmoor. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
Heiliger Sand. Jewish cemetery. Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Worms. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
Hilton Hotel. Hotels. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Hosok Ter. Squares. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
Hosök tere. Squares. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
House of Terror. Political oppression. Museums. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-10.html"> 2015</A><br />
Hungarian National Gallery. Art galleries. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-7.html"> 2015</A><br />
Hungarian State Opera House. Opera houses. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-10.html"> 2015</A><br />
Hungarian Uprising (1956). Monuments. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-3.html"> 2015</A><br />
Institut Français. Cultural centres. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Isola Bella. Island. Italy. Borromei Islands. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
Isola dei Pescatore. Island. Italy. Borromei Islands. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
Isola Madre. Island. Italy. Borromei Islands. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
János-hegy. Chair lift. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
János-hegy. Parks. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
Jardin des plantes. Botanical gardens. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Kagyv Samyé Ling. Buddhist monastery. Scotland. Eskdale. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-1.html"> 2012</A><br />
Keleti pályaudvar. Railway stations. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Kerepesi Cemetery. Cemeteries. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-3.html"> 2015</A><br />
Kerepesi Cemetery. Funerary museum. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-3.html"> 2015</A><br />
Kindergarten Museum. Kindergartens. Museums. Hungary. Martonvásár. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Királyi Baths. Turkish baths. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Kloster Weltenberg. Brewery, oldest (1050). Germany. Bayern. Donaudurchbruch. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/shingles.html"> 2013</A><br />
Laghi di Fusine. Lakes. Italy. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Levant Mine. Tin Mine. England. Cornwall. Pendeen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
Liberation Day. Festival. Italy. Vicenza. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
Libreria Piccolomini. Library. Italy. Siena. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A><br />
Liebfrauenkirche. Church. Germany. Bayern Ingolstadt <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Liechtenstein State Library. Library. Liechtenstein. Vaduz. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
Lost domaine Garden. France. Normandie. Bocage. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Lost domaine Garden. France. Normandie. Caen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/secrets-of-normandy.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Macdonalds, Nyugati Palyaudvar. Elegant burger bar. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
Maggiore. Lake. Italy. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
Mannekin Pis. Fountain. France. Alsace. Colmar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
Margitsziget. Musical fountains. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-4.html"> 2015</A><br />
Margitsziget. Parks. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-4.html"> 2015</A><br />
Margitsziget. Parks. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-10.html"> 2015</A><br />
Maria Valeria Bridge. Bridges. Hungary. Esztergom. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Matyas Corvinus Library Libraries. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/matyas-corvinus-library.html"> 2015</A><br />
Matyas Corvinus Library Libraries. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/matyas-corvinus-library.html"> 2015</A><br />
Mátyás Pince. Restaurant. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
Matyas Templom. Churches. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Matyas Templom. Churches. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-11.html"> 2015</A><br />
Médiatheque de Dôle. Library. France. Franche-Comté. Dôle. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
Médiathèque du Grand Troyes Library. France. Champagne. Troyes <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/troyes-to-montmirail.html"> 2015</a><br />
Meistertrunk. Drinking marathon during Thirty Years War. Germany. Bayern. Rothenburg ob der Tauber. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/rothenburg-and-detwang.html"> 2014</A><br />
Memento Park. Soviet leaders. Statues. Exhibitions. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-9.html"> 2015</A><br />
Meneham. Deserted settlement. France. Bretagne. Kerlouan. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
Metropolitan Library. Library. Romania. Bucharest. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/bucharest.html"> 2013</A><br />
Millenaria Park. Parks. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-9.html"> 2015</A><br />
Minak Theatre. Open-air theatre. England. Cornwall. Porthcurno. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-3.html"> 2012</A><br />
Minimundus. Model buildings. Austria. Klagenfurt. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Mirehouse. Country house. England. Mirehouse. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
Modestine. Naming a camper van. Europe. Introduction. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/setting-scene-introduction.html"> 2005</A><BR /> <br />
Modestine. Camper van hospitalised. England. Devon. Exeter. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/exploring-britain-5-purbeck.html"> 2013</A><br />
Modestine. Donkey. Travels with Stevenson (1878). France. Langudoc-Roussillon. Cevennes. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
Mondony. Gorge. France. Languedoc. Amélie-les-Bains. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/homage-to-catalona.html"> 2013</A><br />
Mont Blanc. Mountain. France. Chamonix. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
Moulin Robert de Bas. Paper mill. France. Auvergne. Ambert. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/paper-and-print.html"> 2013</A><br />
Musée d’imprimerie de Lyon. Printing museum. France. Rhône-Alpes. Lyon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/paper-and-print.html"> 2013</A><br />
Musée des Beaux-Arts. Art gallery. France. Bourgogne. Dijon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Museum of Agriculture. Agricultural museums. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
Museum of Budapest History. Museums. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-11.html"> 2015</A><br />
Museum of Ethnography. Museums. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-7.html"> 2015</A><br />
Nagyvásárcsarnok. Market halls. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Nantes-Budapest. Cycle route. France. Franche-Comté. Dôle. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/return-to-franche-conte.html"> 2012</A><br />
National Gallop. Horse races. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
National Library. Library. Denmark. Copenhagen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
National Library. Library. Romania. Bucharest. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/bucharest.html"> 2013</A><br />
National Museum of Hungary. Museums. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-4.html"> 2015</A><br />
National Museum of the Romanian Peasant. Museum. Romania. Bucharest. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/bucharest.html"> 2013</A><br />
Neue Pinakothek. Art gallery. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bad-tolz-and-munich.html"> 2012</A><br />
Neues Schloss Museum. Germany. Bayern Ingolstadt <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Notre-Dame de l'Épine. Monastery. France. Champagne-Ardenne. Sainte-Menehould. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/trier-luxembourg-and-northern-france.html"> 2014</A><br />
Notre-Dame. Cathedral. France. Ile-de-France. Paris. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/paris-in-snow.html"> 2013</A><br />
Notre-Dame-des-Neiges. Monastery. France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Cevennes. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
Nyugati Palyaudvar Railway stations. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
Oktoberfest. Beer festival. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Oktoberfest. Beer festival. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bad-tolz-and-munich.html"> 2012</A><br />
Palio. Horse race. Italy. Siena. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A><br />
Petit France. Pictureque area. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Strasbourg. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Petit Palais. Palace. France. Ile-de-France. Paris. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/paris-in-snow.html"> 2013</A><br />
Pilgrim Fathers. Migrants to America. England. Devon. Plymouth. <A HREF="https://https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/plymouth-and-cremyl.html"> 2013</A><br />
Pioneer Railway. Railways. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
Pitti Palace. Art gallery. Italy. Florence. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Pont de Normandie Bridge. France. Normandie. Le Havre <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A>BR /> <br />
Ponte Vecchio. Bridge. Italy. Florence. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Ponts Couverts. Bridges. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Strasbourg. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Pyramids of Zone. Geological formation. Italy. Cislano. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-iseo-and-brescia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Recoumène Viaduct. Railway viaduct. France. Auvergne. Monastier-sur-Gazeille. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
Rocher St Michel. Volcanic stack. France. Auvergne. Puy-en-Velay. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
Romeo and Juliet. Location. Italy. Verona. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
Ruszwurm Kávéház. Coffee house. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-11.html"> 2015</A><br />
Saint Blaise. Art deco church. France. Auvergne. Vichy. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/vichy.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Saint-Denis. Churches. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Saint-Denis. Slavery. Monuments. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Saint-Jacques. Church. France. Normandie. Dieppe. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A>BR /> <br />
Saint-Ouen. Housing developments. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
San Francesco. Monastery. Italy. Fiesole. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/fiesole-and-florence.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
San Michele. Cemetery island. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
San Vitale. Church. Italy. Ravenna. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Sant' Appollinare Nuovo. Church. Italy. Ravenna. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Santa Maria delle Pieve. Church. Italy. Arezzo. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A><br />
Scaliger family. Ruling family. Italy. Verona. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
Scuola Grande de San Giovanni Evangelista. Guildhall. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
Seine. River. Source. France. Bourgogne. Saint-Germain-Source-Seine. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
Shakepeare Street. Place-name. Italy. Verona. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
Simplon Pass. Pass. Switzerland. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
Source Celestin. Spas. France. Auvergne. Vichy. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/vichy.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Szabó Ervin Library. Libraries. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
Széchenyi Baths. Baths. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
Széchenyi Chain Bridge. Bridges. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-4.html"> 2015</A><br />
Széchenyi Gyógyfürdo. Baths. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
Szent István Basilica. Cathedrals. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-11.html"> 2015</A><br />
Tabby cat. Nickname. Italy. Padua. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Taillanderie. Tool factory. France. Franche-Comté. Source du Lison. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
Teatro Olimpico. Theatre. Italy. Vicenza. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
Tomis. Ancient Greek city. Romania. Constanta. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/constanta-and-black-sea.html"> 2012</A><br />
Tour de France. Cycle race. France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/return-to-franche-conte.html"> 2012</A><br />
Trabant. Stretched limousine. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Transatlantiques. Ocean liners. France. Rhône-Alpes. Lyon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/paper-and-print.html"> 2013</A><br />
Two Gentlemen of Verona. Location. Italy. Verona. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
Vajdahunyad Castle. Castles. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
Városliget. Parks. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
Vauluisant Museum. Hosiery museum. France. Champagne. Troyes <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/troyes-to-montmirail.html"> 2015</a><br />
Vichy tablets. Sugar free digestion aid with laxative side-effects. France. Auvergne. Vichy. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/vichy.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Victims of German Occupation. Monuments. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
Vigadó. Concert halls. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Villa Giulia. House. Italy. Pallanza. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
Westerkirk Library. Library. Scotland. Westerkirk. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-1.html"> 2012</A><br />
Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-34055234088783265732017-02-16T09:22:00.003+00:002017-02-17T20:25:11.308+00:00Biographical index to Maxted Travel blogsThis is one of a series of indexes to our travels, last updated 17 February 2017. <br />
<br />
<b>1. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/index-to-all-maxted-travel-blogs.html">Places. </A></B>The only complete index. <br />
<br />
<b>2. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/biographical-index-to-maxted-travel.html">People. </A></B>Some of the historical personages we have encountered on our travels. <br />
<br />
<b>3. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/subject-index-to-maxted-travel-blogs.html">Subjects. </A></B>A miscellany of oddities and other interesting discoveries.<br />
<br />
<b>4. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/name-index-to-maxted-travel-blogs.html">Names. </A></B>A key to proper names other than places and people.<br />
<br />
The links take you to the start of each posting. To find the place within longer postings it may be necessary to use the browser's "find" function (Ctrl+F). Where an account of a place extends over more than one posting, there are multiple index references. For some places with repeated visits (e.g. Caen) many references may be to visits to friends rather than description of the locality.<br />
<br />
Absalon or Axel (1128-1201). Bishop of Lund. Denmark. Copenhagen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Adenauer, Konrad (1876-1967). politician. Nordrhein-Westfalen. Cologne. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
Andersen, Hans Christian (1805-1875). Writer. Denmark. Copenhagen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Anna Amalia (1739-1807). Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Anna Amalia Library. Library. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Anna Paulovna (1795-1865). Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Anonymous. Chronicler. Monument. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
Anthony of Padua, Saint. Relics, tongue, vocal chords. Italy. Padua. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Arnolfo di Cambio (1230-1301). Architect. Italy. Colle de Valle d'Elsa. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/arrival-in-tuscany.html"> 2010</A><br />
Asquith, Raymond (died 1916). World War 1 casualty. France. Hauts-de-France. Amiens. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A>BR /> <br />
Aymé, Marcel (1902-1967). Writer. France. Franche-Comté. Villers-Robert. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750). composer. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Balzac, Honore de (1799-1850). Writer. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/april-in-paris.html"> 2014</A><br />
Bartholdi, Frédéric (1834-1904). Sculptor. France. Alsace. Colmar. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/montbeliard-belfort-and-colmar.html"> 2012</A><br />
Bartholdi, Frédéric (1834-1904). Sculptor. France. Franche-Comté. Belfort. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/montbeliard-belfort-and-colmar.html"> 2012</A><br />
Bas, Robert de. Papermaker. France. Auvergne. Ambert. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/paper-and-print.html"> 2013</A><br />
Beatus Rhenanus (1485-1547). Humanist. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Sélestat. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Beck, C. H. Printer. Germany. Bayern. Nördlingen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
Beethoven, Ludwig van. Composer. Museum. Hungary. Martonvásár. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Bernard of Clairvaux. Saint. France. Bourgogne. Cîteaux. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
Bernardino da Siena, San (1380-1444). Tomb. Italy. Fiesole. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Berthier, Ferdinand (1803-1886). Deaf mute. France. Bourgogne. Louhans. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/across-france-to-jura.html"> 2014</A><br />
Blaha Lujza (1850-1926). Opera singer. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-3.html"> 2015</A><br />
Bocaccio. Writer. Italy. Certaldo. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/arrival-in-tuscany.html"> 2010</A><br />
Bodoni, Giovanni Battista. Printer. Italy. Parma. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Boisot, Jean-Baptiste,. Bibliophile. France. Franche-Comté. Besançon. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
Bonivard,. Prior of St. Victor’s, Geneva. Switzerland. Chillon. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/hans-knees-and-bumps-daisy.html"> 2005</A><br />
Bouguer, Pierre (1698-1758). Astronomer and measurer of shape of the earth. France. Bretagne. Le Croisic. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
Brandt, Willi (1913-1992). Politician. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Lübeck. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celle-and-lubeck.html"> 2012</A><br />
Brunszvik, Teréz (1775-1861). Founder of kindergartens. Hungary. Martonvásár. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Buchheim, Lorhar-Günther (1918-2007) Artist. Germany. Bayern Bernried. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Buckland, William (1784-1856). Geologist. France. Franche-Comté. Grotte d'Osselle. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
Buffon. Naturalists. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Bugatti, Ettore (1881-1947) Motor manufacturer. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Molsheim <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Busch, Wilhelm (1832-1908). caricaturist. Germany. Niedersachsen. Hannover. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/hannover.html"> 2012</A><br />
Byron. Writer. Switzerland. Chillon. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/hans-knees-and-bumps-daisy.html"> 2005</A><br />
Calixtus II (1119-1124). Pope. France. Franche-Comté. Quingey. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
Carl August (1757-1828). Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Casanova, Giacomo Girolamo (1725-1798). Librarian and libertine. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-4.html"> 2015</A><br />
Chaplin, Charles. Film star. Switzerland. Vevey. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965). politician. Denmark. Copenhagen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Civitale, Matteo (1436-1502). Sculptor. Italy. Lucca. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Clarke, William Tierney. Engineers. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-4.html"> 2015</A><br />
Cocteau, Jean. Writer. France, Ile-de-France. Milly-la-Forêt. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Writer. England. Somerset. Watchet. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
Colette (1381-1447). Saint. France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
Colette (1873-1954). Novelist. France. Bourgogne. Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisay. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
Colette. Saint. France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/foret-de-chaux-and-haut-jura.html"> 2012</A><br />
Courbet, Gustave (1819-1877). artist. France. Franche-Comté. Ornans. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
Coutteret, Germain (1902-1945). World War 2. Resistance. France. Franche-Comté. Buffard. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
Coutteret, Germain (1902-1945). World War 2. Resistance. France. Franche-Comté. Buffard. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
Cranach, Lucas (1472-1553). Artist. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Cuvier, Georges (1796-1832). Scientist. France. Franche-Comté. Montbéliard. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/montbeliard-belfort-and-colmar.html"> 2012</A><br />
Dante. Mausoleum. Italy. Ravenna. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Davy, Humphry (1778-1829). Chemist. England. Cornwall. Penzance. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
Desmoulins, Camille (1760-1794). Revolutionary. France. Hauts-de-France. Guise. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/guise.html"> 2015</a><br />
Diaghilev. Grave. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Egede, Hans (1686-1758). missionary. Denmark. Copenhagen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Eiffel, Gustave. Engineer. France. Auvergne. Garabit. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi 1837-1898). Monuments. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi 1837-1898). Queens. Hungary. Esztergom. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi 1837-1898). Queens. Museums. Hungary. Gödöllö. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231). Saint. Germany. Bavaria. Pottenstein. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Ellenborough, Jane Elizabeth Digby, Lady (1807-1881). Courtesan. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Feddersen, Hans Peter (1848-1941). Artist. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Husum. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/husum.html"> 2012</A><br />
Feddersen, Hans Peter (1848-1941). Artist. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Niebüll. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/koogs-and-halligen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Fischer, Johann Michael (fl. 1748). Architect. Germany. Bayern. Ottobeuren. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/murnau-and-kochelsee.html"> 2012</A><br />
Fournier, Alain. Writer. France. Loire et Centre. Chapelle d’Angillon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
Friedrich I Barbarossa (1123-1190). Holy Roman Emperor. Germany. Thuringen. Kyffhäuser. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Fugger family. Bankers. Germany. Bayern. Augsburg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
Fugger family. Financiers. Germany. Bayern. Augsburg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
Galileo Galillei (1564-1642) Astronomer. Italy. Pisa. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Ganz Ábrahám (1815-1867). Iron founder. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Garibaldi. General. Italy. Pallanza. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
George III (1760-1820). Sea-bathing monarch. England. Dorset. Weymouth. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/exploring-britain-5-purbeck.html"> 2013</A><br />
Giulia da Certaldo. Skeleton. Italy. Certaldo. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/arrival-in-tuscany.html"> 2010</A><br />
Godin. Jean-Baptiste André . Industrialist. France. Hauts-de-France. Guise. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/guise.html"> 2015</a><br />
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832). writer. Germany. Bayern. Regensburg. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832). Writer. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Gozzoli, Benozzo. Artist. Italy. San Gimigiano. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/arrival-in-tuscany.html"> 2010</A><br />
Gropius, Walter (1883-1969). Architect. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Gül Baba (died 1541). Ottoman Turk. Tomb. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Gutenberg, Johann. Printer. Monument. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Strasbourg. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Hagi, Georghe. Footballer. Romania. Mamaia. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/constanta-and-black-sea.html"> 2012</A><br />
Herder, Johann Gottfried (1744-1803). Writer. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Hess András. Printer. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Hoffman, E.T.W. (1776-1822). Writer. Germany. Bayern. Bamberg. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Hugo, Victor (1802-1885). Writer. France. Franche-Comté. Besancon. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
Hundertwasser, Friedensreich. Architect. Austria. Bad Blumau. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/hundertwasser-and-bad-blumau.html"> 2015</A><br />
István I, Szent. Relics. Right hand. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-11.html"> 2015</A><br />
István I, Szent. Monuments. Hungary. Székesfehérvár. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
Jeanne d'Arc. Saint. France. Centre. Chinon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/crossing-la-loire.html"> 2014</A><br />
John of Austria (1547-1578). Soldier. Germany. Bayern. Regensburg. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
Joyce, James. Writer. Italy. Trieste. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Kandinsky. Artist. Germany. Bayern. Murnau. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/murnau-and-kochelsee.html"> 2012</A><br />
Kollwitz, Käthe (1867-1945). Artist. Nordrhein-Westfalen. Cologne. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
Kovács, Margit (1902-1977). Ceramist. Hungary. Szentendre. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-3.html"> 2015</A><br />
Kuniyoshi, Utagawa (1797-1861). Printmaker. Exhibitions. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Lamartine, Alphonse de (1790-1859) Poet and statesman. France. Bourgogne. Mâcon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
Laurence Mourget (1769-1844). Puppeteer. France. Rhône-Alpes. Lyon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/lyon.html"> 2013</A><br />
Lawrence, T. E. (1888-1935). Lawrence of Arabia. England. Dorset. Wareham. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/exploring-britain-5-purbeck.html"> 2013</A><br />
Ledoux, Claude-Nicolas (1736-1806). Architect.. France. Franche-Comté. Arc-et-Senans. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
Leibnitz, Gottfried Wilheml (1646-1716). Librarian and philosopher. Germany. Niedersachsen. Hannover. <A HREF="modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/hannover.html"> 2012</A><br />
Lenin. Soviet leaders. Statues. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-9.html"> 2015</A><br />
Lenkiewicz, Robert (1941-2002). Artist. England. Devon. Plymouth. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/plymouth-and-cremyl.html"> 2013</A><br />
Liszt, Franz (1811-1886). composer. Germany. Bayern. Bayreuth. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Liszt, Franz (1811-1886). Composer. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Lorenzetti, Pietro. Artist. Italy. Arezzo. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A><br />
Ludwig I (1825-1848). King of Bavaria. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Ludwig II (1864-1886). King of Bavaria. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Ludwig II.. King of Bavaria. Germany. Bayern. Neuschwanstein. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
Lumière, Auguste (1862-1954) and Louis (1864-1948). Cinematogaphers. France. Franche-Comté. Besancon. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
Luther, Martin. Protestant reformer. Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Worms. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
Lyte, Henry Francis (1793–1847). Hymn writer. England. Devon. Brixham. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/brixham.html"> 2013</A><br />
Mabilon family. Bellfounders. Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Saarburg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
Mabilon family. Bellfounders. Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Saarburg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
Mahler, Gustav. Woodland hut. Austria. Klagenfurt. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Malassis. Printer. France. Normandy. Alençon. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Mann, Thomas. Author. Italy. Lido. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
Manoury. Bookseller. France. Normandy. Caen. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Manuzio, Aldo. Printer. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
Marcillat, Guillaume de (1467-1529). Artist. Italy. Arezzo. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A><br />
Marguerite de Valois. France. Auvergne. Usson. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
Marie Élisabeth Éléonore Alexandrine de Mecklembourg-Schwerin, Grand Duchesse Wladimir (1854-1920) Russian curist. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Vittel <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Marx, Karl. Philosopher. Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Trier. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/trier-luxembourg-and-northern-france.html"> 2014</A><br />
Mátyás Corvinus (ruled 1458-1490). Monarchs. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/matyas-corvinus-library.html"> 2015</A><br />
Mátyás Corvinus. Monuments. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475–1564) Statue of David. Italy. Florence. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Michelangelo, Artist. Italy. Florence. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Miller, Oskar von. Hydroelectic engineer. Walchensee. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/murnau-and-kochelsee.html"> 2012</A><br />
Moholy-Nagy, László (1895-1946). Artist. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Montez, Lola (1818-1861). Courtesan. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Montgolfier family Paper makers. France. Bourgogne. Montbard <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
Moore, Henry (1898-1986). Sculptor. Denmark. Louisiana. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
Mozart, Leopold (1719-1787). Composer. Germany. Bayern. Augsburg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
Mozart, Leopold. Composer. Germany. Bayern. Augsburg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
Mr Bean. Comedian. Italy. Gemona del Friuli. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Munter, Gabrielle. Artist. Germany. Bayern. Murnau. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/murnau-and-kochelsee.html"> 2012</A><br />
Napoleon III. Curist. France. Auvergne. Vichy. <A HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/vichy.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Napoléon. Monuments. France. Bourgogne. Auxonne <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Napoléon. Exhibition. Germany. Bayern Ingolstadt <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Napoléon. Buttocks on display. Italy. Milan. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
Nelson, Horatio (1759-1805). Admiral. England. Cornwall. Penzance. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
Niessen, Ludwig (1855-1924). benefactor. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Husum. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/husum.html"> 2012</A><br />
Nietsche, Friedrich Wilhelm (1844-1900). Philosopher. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Nodier, Charles (1780-1844). Poet. France. Franche-Comté. Besancon. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
Odile of Alsace (662-720). Saint. France. Franche-Comté. Baume-les-Dames. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
Ovid. Poet. Romania. Constanta. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/constanta-and-black-sea.html"> 2012</A><br />
Paccard, Michel Gabriel. Mountaineer. France. Chamonix. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
Palladio, Andrea (1508-1580). Architect. Italy. Vicenza. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
Pasteur, Louis Scientist. France. Farnche-Comte Dole. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
Pasteur, Louis Cheese label. France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
Pasteur, Louis (1822-1895). Chemist. France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
Pasteur, Louis (1822-1895). Chemist. France. Franche-Comté. Mont Poupet. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
Pfeffel,Théophile Conrad (1736-1809). Blind writer. France. Alsace. Colmar. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/montbeliard-belfort-and-colmar.html"> 2012</A><br />
Philip the Bold. Duke of Burgundy. Tomb.Sculptures by Claus Sluter. Dijon. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/toodle-loo-to-loue.html"> 2005</A><br />
Pius III. Pope. Italy. Siena. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A><br />
Poussepin, Marie (1643-). Benefactor. France. Ile de france. Dourdan. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/seine-and-provins.html"> 2012</A><br />
Presley, Elvis. Marzipan statue. Hungary. Szentendre. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-3.html"> 2015</A><br />
Pushkin, Alexandr Sergeevich (1799-1837). Poet. Monument. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Rabelais, Francois. Humanist and bon-viveur. France. Centre. Chinon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/crossing-la-loire.html"> 2014</A><br />
Rasmussen, Knud (1879-1933). Explorer. Denmark. Louisiana. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
Riemenschneider, Tilman. Sculptor. Germany. Bayern. Detwang. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/rothenburg-and-detwang.html"> 2014</A><br />
Rilke, Rainer Maria. Poet. Italy. Duino. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Riquet, Pierre-Paul (1604-1680). Canal engineer. Midi-Pyrénées. Revel. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
Romé de l’Isle, Jean-Baptiste (1736-1790). Crystallographer. France. Franche Comté. Gray. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
Ronan, Saint. Monuments. France. Bretagne. Locronan. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
Rouget de L'Isle, Claude Joseph (1760-1836). Army officer. France. Franche-Comté. Lons-le-Saunier. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
Savonarola, Girolamo (1452-1498) Execution. Italy. Florence. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Scamozzi, Vincenzo (1548-1616). Architect. Italy. Vicenza. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
Schack, Hans (1609-1676). Soldier. Denmark. Møgeltønder. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/into-denmark.html"> 2012</A><br />
Schiller, Friedrich, Friedrich von (1759-1805). Dramatist. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Senefelder, Alois (1771-1834). Printer. Germany. Bayern. Solnhofen. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Sévigné, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de (1626-1696). Curist. France. Auvergne. Vichy. <A HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/vichy.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616). Dramatist. Denmark. Helsingør. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616). Dramatist. Statue. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Shaw, George Bernard (1856-1950). Writer. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Mölln. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celle-and-lubeck.html"> 2012</A><br />
Sorel, Agnes (1421-1450),. Mistress of Charles VII. France. Loire et Centre. Loches. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/france-using-byways.html"> 2013</A><br />
Stevenson, Robert Louis (1850-1894). Writer. Introduction. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/setting-scene-introduction.html"> 2005</A><BR /> <br />
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Writer. Monastier-sur-Gazeille. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
Stewart, Percy Malborough (1871-1962). Traveller. England. Yorkshire. Pocklington. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
Stieler (1781-1858). Artist. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Storm, Theodor (1817-1888). Writer. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Husum. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/husum.html"> 2012</A><br />
Stravinsky. Grave. Italy. Venice. . <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Széchenyi, Istvan. Politician. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-4.html"> 2015</A><br />
Telford, Thomas. Engineer. Scotland. Westerkirk. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-1.html"> 2012</A><br />
Tennyson, Alfred Lord (1809-1892). Poet. England. Mirehouse. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/up-north.html"> 2013</A><br />
Thaulow, Frits (1847-1906) Artist. Exhibition. France. Normandie. Caen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A><br />
Thibault (1017-). Saint. France. Bourgogne. St. Thibault-en-Auxois. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
Thomas-a-Becket, Saint. Church dedications. Hungary. Esztergom. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Thorvaldsen, Bertel (1770-1844). Sulptor. Denmark. Copenhagen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Urlsperger, Samuel. Pastor. Germany. Bayern. Augsburg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
Valery, Paul. Writer. Italy. Duino. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Van der Velde, Henry (1863-1857). Architect. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Vasari, Giorgio (1511-). Artist. Italy. Arezzo. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A><br />
Vauban, Sébastien le Prestre de (1633-1707). Military architect. France. Alsace. Neuf-Brisach. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
Vauban, Sébastien le Prestre de (1633-1707). Military architect. France. Bourgogne. St Leger-Vauban. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
Vivaldi, Antonio. Composer. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
Wagner, Richard (1813-1883). Composer. Germany. Bayern. Bayreuth. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Washington, George. Monuments. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
Watteville, Jean de (1618-1702). Abbot. France. Franche Comté. Baume -les-Messieurs. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
Weber, Carl Maria von (1786-1826). Composer. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Eutin. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schleswig-and-around.html"> 2012</A><br />
Wieland, Christof Martin (1733-1813). Writer. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Wilhelmine of Prussia (1709-1758). Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Germany. Bayern. Bayreuth. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
William of Orange (1688-1702). Monument. England. Devon. Brixham. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/brixham.html"> 2013</A><br />
Wycliffe, John. Theologian. Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Worms. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
Ybl Miklós (1840-91) Architect. Hungary. Székesfehérvár. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36540086.post-67491170419332118172017-02-16T09:13:00.000+00:002017-02-17T20:22:30.928+00:00Subject index to Maxted travel blogsThis is one of a series of indexes to our travels, last updated 17 February 2017. <br />
<br />
<b>1. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/index-to-all-maxted-travel-blogs.html">Places. </A></B>The only complete index. <br />
<br />
<b>2. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/biographical-index-to-maxted-travel.html">People. </A></B>Some of the historical personages we have encountered on our travels. <br />
<br />
<b>3. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/subject-index-to-maxted-travel-blogs.html">Subjects. </A></B>A miscellany of oddities and other interesting discoveries.<br />
<br />
<b>4. <a HREF="http://maxtedmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/name-index-to-maxted-travel-blogs.html">Names. </A></B>A key to proper names other than places and people.<br />
<br />
The links take you to the start of each posting. To find the place within longer postings it may be necessary to use the browser's "find" function (Ctrl+F). Where an account of a place extends over more than one posting, there are multiple index references. For some places with repeated visits (e.g. Caen) many references may be to visits to friends rather than description of the locality.<br />
<br />
Abbey church. France. Brou. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
Abbey. France. Bretagne. Relec. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
Absinthe, its effect on fish in the river Doubs. France. Franche-Comté. Pontarlier. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
Air displays. France. Franche-Comté. Besancon. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
Alternative village. Denmark. Torup. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
Amphibocycle. France. Franche-Comté. Champagne-sur-Loue. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/return-to-franche-conte.html"> 2012</A><br />
Amphitheatre with housing development. Italy. Lucca. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Amphitheatre. Italy. Verona. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
Anatomy theatre. Italy. Padua. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Ancient Roman remains. Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Trier. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/trier-luxembourg-and-northern-france.html"> 2014</A><br />
Anglican church. Denmark. Copenhagen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Archives. Destruction. Nordrhein-Westfalen. Cologne. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
Art gallery. Denmark. Louisiana. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
Art installations. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Asparagus obsession. Germany Schleswig-Holstein. Schleswig-Holstein. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celle-and-lubeck.html"> 2012</A><br />
Asparagus. Germany. Bayern Rohrbach. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Baby's walking frames. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-7.html"> 2015</A><br />
Battle monument. France. Champagne. Montmirail <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/troyes-to-montmirail.html"> 2015</a><br />
Bauhaus. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Bell in cathedral nave. France. Normandie. Bayeux. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/april-in-paris.html"> 2014</A><br />
Bell tower. France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
Benedictine beer. Germany. Bayern. Andechs. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/hans-knees-and-bumps-daisy.html"> 2005</A><br />
Berlin Wall section. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Lübeck. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celle-and-lubeck.html"> 2012</A><br />
Bicycle cities. Italy. Lucca. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Biou - grape harvest. France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
Black Virgin. Fashion show. Puy-en-Velay. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
Blessing of motorbikes. Switzerland. Salgesch. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
Body cast of 12th century woman France. Alsace-Lorraine. Sélestat. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Book cupboard, mosaic. Italy. Ravenna. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Book history. Biographical dictionaries. Conferences. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Brickworks Museum. Denmark. Broager. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/into-denmark.html"> 2012</A><br />
Bus passes - a great day out. England. Devon. Brixham. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/brixham.html"> 2013</A><br />
Camisards. Protestant militants (1702-1704). Pont de Montvert. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
Campanile, collapse, 1902. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Canal Bridge. France. Loire et Centre. Briare. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Canal with locks 1390. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Mölln. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celle-and-lubeck.html"> 2012</A><br />
Canals. Italy. Comacchio. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Canals. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Car attacked by octopus. Germany. Bayern Bernried. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Cascades. France. Franche-Comté. Hérisson. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
Castle. Germany. Baden-Wurttemberg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/baden-wurttemberg.html"> 2015</a><br />
Castles. Germany. Bayern. Harburg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
Cathedral. Denmark. Copenhagen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Cathedral. England. Lincolnshire. Lincoln. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
Cathedral. Italy. Florence. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Cathedral. Italy. Pisa. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Cathedral. Italy. Siena. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/siena-and-arezzo.html"> 2010</A><br />
Cathedral. Nordrhein-Westfalen. Cologne. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
Cathedrals. France. Hauts-de-France. Amiens. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A>BR /> <br />
Cathedrals. France. Champagne. Troyes <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/troyes-to-montmirail.html"> 2015</a><br />
Cave. France. Franche-Comté. Grotte d'Osselle. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
Caves. Slovenia. Pivkajama. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Château. France. Loire et Centre. Frazé. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Château. Imprisonment in tower. Monastier-sur-Gazeille. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
Cheese manufacture. France. Languedoc. Roquefort. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
Cheese production. France. Franche-Comté. Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
Cherubim. Difference from seraphim. Vienne. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
Chronogram. Austria. Klagenfurt. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Church roof as watershed. France. Franche-Comté. Les Rousses. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
Churches. Strange things on. France. Bourgogne. Saint-Saulge. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/champagne-sur-loue-at-last_22.html"> 2005</A><br />
Churches. Strange things on. France. Normandy. Sainte-Mère-Eglise. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/champagne-sur-loue-at-last_22.html"> 2005</A><br />
Cloth Museum. Niedersachsen. Bramsche. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
Code book. Germany. Bayern Ingolstadt <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Coffee house, oldest in Germany (1686). Germany. Bayern. Regensburg. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
Cricket. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-10.html"> 2015</A><br />
Dam busters. England. Scampton. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
Deadly sins in felt, and ray guns. England. Lincolnshire. Scunthorpe. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/scunthorpe.html"> 2016</A><br />
Devil's Bridge. Legent. France. Franche-Comté. Salins-les-Bains. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
Dinosuar footprints. France. Franche-Comté. Loulle. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
Dog kennels, royal, rococo, Amalienburg. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Dog's mess, animadversions on French indifference. France. Franche-Comté. Lons-le-Saunier. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
Dragons as mammals. Denmark. Broager. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/into-denmark.html"> 2012</A><br />
Dragons. France. Bretagne. Lampaul-Guimiliau. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/locronon-and-crozon-peninsula.html"> 2013</A><br />
Earthquake, 1976. Italy. Gemona di Friuli. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html">20067</A>. 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Elections. Polling. Germany. Thuringen. Weimar. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
English writers popular in Hungary. Hungary. Székesfehérvár. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
Etruscans Italy. Fiesole. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Euros, newly introduced. Slovenia. Lipica. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Ex voto paintings, health and safety warnings. Italy. Pallanza. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
Faience, origin of word. Italy. Faenza. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Firemen's serenade. France. Auvergne. Ambert. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/issoire-and-usson.html"> 2013</A><br />
Fisherman extraordinary. France. Bourgogne. Mâcon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
Floods. France. Bourgogne. Dijon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
Folk art exhibitions. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-6.html"> 2015</A><br />
Folk festival. England. Dorset. Swanage. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/exploring-britain-5-purbeck.html"> 2013</A><br />
Fool. Germany. Bayern. Nördlingen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
Forge. France. Bretagne. Forges-des-Salles. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/lannion-and-tregastel.html"> 2014</A><br />
Forge. France. Franche-Comté. Loulle. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/jura-interlude.html"> 2014</A><br />
Forges. France. Bourgogne. Montbard <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Fortifications. France. Franche-Comté. Salins-les-Bains. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
Fossils. Germany. Bayern. Solnhofen. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Foundling hospitals. France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
Funeral. Italy. Burano. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
Gardens. England. Cornwall. Mount Edgcumbe. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/plymouth-and-cremyl.html"> 2013</A><br />
Gemstones. Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz. Idar-Oberstein. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/worms-and-saarburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
Glass harmonica. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Glass manufacture. Italy. Venice. Murano. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Glove making. France. Midi-Pyrénées. Millau. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
Gorge. Tarn. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
Graffiti on Juliet's balcony. Italy. Verona. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/verona-and-vicenza.html"> 2007</A><br />
Granite rock formations. France. Bretagne. Forges-des-Salles. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/lannion-and-tregastel.html"> 2014</A><br />
Grave of Devonian. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Honey production. France. Franche-Comté. Mouchard. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
Hop harvesting. Germany. Bayern. Rohrbach. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
Hunting mania. France. Franche-Comté. Buffard. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
Hunting mania. France. Franche-Comté. Port-Lesney. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
Ice cream. Italy. Florence. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Ice-making machine. France. Bourgogne. Bourbon-Lancy. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/across-france-to-jura.html"> 2014</A><br />
Illuminated manuscripts. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/matyas-corvinus-library.html"> 2015</A><br />
Introduction. Europe <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/you-cant-get-too-much-of-good-thing.html"> 2007</A><br />
Iron foundries. France. Hauts-de-France. Guise. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/guise.html"> 2015</a><br />
Iron works. Supplier for Eiffel Tower. France. Franche Comté. Fraisans. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
Itinerant booksellers.. France. Normandie. Cotentin. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/france-using-byways.html"> 2013</A><br />
Jewish ghetto. Italy. Venice. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
Jewish memorial. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
Jigsaw puzzles. Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Ravensburg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/lake-constance-and-ravensburg.html"> 2014</A><br />
kurtos kalacz - chimney cakes. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-5.html"> 2015</A><br />
Langos - Hungarian pizza. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-7.html"> 2015</A><br />
Lego. Denmark. Copenhagen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Library. Italy. Diano Marina. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Library. Niedersachsen. Bramsche. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
Linguistic boundaries. Switzerland. Salgesch. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-annecy-to-lake-maggiore.html"> 2007</A><br />
Lippizaner horses. Slovenia. Lipica. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Logan stone. France. Bretagne. Huelgoet. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
Manhole museum. Italy. Comacchio. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Map. Europe <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/"> 2007</A><br />
Map. Inaccurate. France. Franche-Comté. Arc-et-Senans. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/champagne-sur-loue-at-last_22.html"> 2005</A><br />
Marble quarries. Italy. Carrara. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Markets. Italy. Padua. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Mermaid statue. Denmark. Copenhagen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/copenhagen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Migrants. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Milk seller. Statue. Hungary. Székesfehérvár. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-8.html"> 2015</A><br />
Mineral collection. France. Franche-Comté. Grotte d'Oselle. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
Minority populations. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Husum. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/husum.html"> 2012</A><br />
Monarchs. Tombs. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Monument. Ugly. Germany. Thuringen. Kyffhäuser. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/weimar.html"> 2005</A><br />
Moravian community. Denmark. Christianfeld. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
Morris dancers. England. Devon. Exeter. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
Mosaic, 4th century. Italy. Aquileia. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/venice-and-aquilea.html"> 2007</A><br />
Mosaics. France. Loire et Centre. Briare. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/brexit-to-france.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Mosque. Romania. Constanta. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/constanta-and-black-sea.html"> 2012</A><br />
Natural history. France. Franche-Comté. Haut Jura. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
Naval warfare. England. Yorkshire. Scarborough. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-to-be-in-england-2.html"> 2012</A><br />
Night scenes. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest-1.html"> 2015</A><br />
Oil wells. France. Champagne. Montmirail <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/troyes-to-montmirail.html"> 2015</a><br />
Olympic flame. England. Devon. Exeter. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cologne-and-home.html"> 2012</A><br />
Palaces. Nymphenburg. Germany. Bayern. Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/munich.html"> 2005</A><br />
Passion play. Germany. Bayern. Oberammergau. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
Pasties. England. Cornwall. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/west-penwith.html"> 2013</A><br />
Pendulum and Galileo. Italy. Pisa. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Petrified dog. France. Auvergne. Saint-Nectaire. <A HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/auvergne.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Pharmacy. France. Franche-Comté. Poligny. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
Pilgrimage sites. Blessing of cars. France. Franche-Comté. Chissey. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
Pipe manufacture. France. Franche-Comté. Saint-Claude. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
Plague column. Austria. Klagenfurt. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Planet walk. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Plön. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schleswig-and-around.html"> 2012</A><br />
Polish community. England. Lincolnshire. Scunthorpe. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/scunthorpe.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Postscript. Europe <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/postscript.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Printing. France. Rhône-Alpes. Trévoux. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/paper-and-print.html"> 2013</A><br />
Prints. 1800-1900. France. Paris et Ile de France. Paris. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/taking-french-leave-in-paris.html"> 2015</A><br />
Processionary caterpillars. France. Languedoc. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-lost.html"> 2013</A><br />
Punch and Judy. France. Rhône-Alpes. Lyon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/lyon.html"> 2013</A><br />
Punts. Germany. Baden-Wurttemberg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/baden-wurttemberg.html"> 2015</a><br />
Rack and pinion railways. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
Railway station. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Strasbourg. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Railway station. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Vittel <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Railway, wind powered. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Dagebüll. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/koogs-and-halligen.html"> 2012</A><br />
Regionalism France. Franche-Comté. Besançon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
Resistance Museum. France. Franche-Comté. Besancon. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
Resurgence. France. Franche-Comté. Source de la Loue. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
Resurgences. France. Franche-Comté. Source du Lison. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/back-in-jura.html"> 2005</A><br />
Resurgences. France. Franche-Comté. Source du Lison. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/back-in-village.html"> 2016</A><br />
Retro-moto rally. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Molsheim <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Roman forum. Italy. Trieste. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Roman site. Vienne. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/cevennes-up.html"> 2005</A><br />
Roman sites. France. Franche-Comté. Villers-Farlay. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/swiss-roll.html"> 2005</A><br />
Roman theatre. Italy. Fiesole. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Roman theatre. Italy. Trieste. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/trieste-and-slovenia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Romanesque church. France. Auvergne. Issoire. <A HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/auvergne.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Romanesque church. France. Auvergne. Saint-Nectaire. <A HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/auvergne.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Rural idyll. Slovenia. Podkoren. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/into-austria.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Sacrcophaguses. Italy. Classe. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Salt production. France. Franche-Comté. Salins-les-Bains. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
Salt works.. France. Franche-Comté. Arc-et-Senans. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
Saltworks. France. Bretagne. Guérande. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brittany-and-home.html"> 2014</A><br />
Sausage seller, oldest in world (1380). Germany. Bayern. Regensburg. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
Saxon defences. England. Dorset. Wareham. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/exploring-britain-5-purbeck.html"> 2013</A><br />
Sculptures of cows everywhere. Italy. Milan. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-maggiore-and-milan.html"> 2007</A><br />
Sgraffito. Italy. Colle de Valle d'Elsa. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/arrival-in-tuscany.html"> 2010</A><br />
Shingles. Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Stockau. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/shingles.html"> 2013</A><br />
Ship museum. Denmark. Roskilde. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sjaelland.html"> 2012</A><br />
Silly picture. Germany. Bayern. Rottenegg. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/from-france-to-germany.html"> 2005</A><br />
Silly picture. Switzerland. Switzerland. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
Snail farm. France. Franche-Comté. Cramans. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
Soup festival. France. Languedoc-Roussillon. Florac. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
Source. Germany. Baden-Württemberg. Danube. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-black-forest-and-source-of-danube.html"> 2012</A><br />
Soviet informers. Training. Films. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/budapest-9.html"> 2015</A><br />
Spa. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Vittel <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Spa. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Vittel <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Spas. France. Auvergne. Saint-Nectaire. <A HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/auvergne.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Spas. France. Auvergne. Vichy. <A HREF="http://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/vichy.html"> 2016</A><BR /> <br />
Spas. France. Franche-Comté. Salins-les-Bains. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
Spiders. Italy. Lido di Spina. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/faenza-ravenna-and-comacchio.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Stations of the cross. Germany. Baden-Wurttemberg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/baden-wurttemberg.html"> 2015</a><br />
Statistics. Europe <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/few-facts-and-figures.html. 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Steam locomotive on castle walls. Italy. Brescia. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-iseo-and-brescia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Steel works. England. Lincolnshire. Scunthorpe. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/scunthorpe.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Stevenson’s rocket. Langogne. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
Storks. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Sélestat. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Stoves of the cast iron variety. France. Hauts-de-France. Guise. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/guise.html"> 2015</a><br />
Sunset. Italy. Iseo. <A HREF="https://modestine2.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/lake-iseo-and-brescia.html"> 2007</A><br />
Surfing. Germany. Bayern Munich. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bavaria.html"> 2015</a><br />
Synagogue. Hungary. Budapest. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/budapest2.html"> 2015</A><br />
Till Eulenspiegel. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Mölln. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celle-and-lubeck.html"> 2012</A><br />
Toilets, animadversions on French attitudes. France. Franche-Comté. Lons-le-Saunier. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/absinthe-makes-carp-grow-stronger.html"> 2005</A><br />
Tower,leaning. Italy. Pisa. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Town walls. Germany. Bayern. Nördlingen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/augsburg-and-nordlingen.html"> 2014</A><br />
Town walls. Italy. Lucca. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/pisa-and-lucca.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Transhumance. Germany. Bayern. Bavaria. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/hans-knees-and-bumps-daisy.html"> 2005</A><br />
Transhumance. Switzerland. Switzerland. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/wilhelm-tell-and-switzerland.html"> 2005</A><br />
Travertine terraces. France. Franche Comté. Reculée des Planches. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/10/sunshine-continues.html"> 2005</A><br />
Underground street. Italy. Colle de Valle d'Elsa. <A HREF="https://modestine4.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/arrival-in-tuscany.html"> 2010</A><br />
University, defense of thesis. Italy. Padua. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
University. Germany. Baden-Wurttemberg. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/baden-wurttemberg.html"> 2015</a><br />
Velo-rail. France. Normandie. Caen. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/across-france-to-jura.html"> 2014</A><br />
Viaduct. France. Midi-Pyrénées. Millau. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/paradise-regained.html"> 2013</A><br />
Vide grenier. France. Franche-Comté. Pagnoz. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/besancon-and-around.html"> 2005</A><br />
Viking Museum. Germany. Schleswig-Holstein. Haithabu. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/schleswig-and-around.html"> 2012</A><br />
Village supplied by winch. Haute-Rive. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/in-hoofprints-of-modestine.html"> 2005</A><br />
Villas. Italy. Branta River. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2006/05/venice-and-padua.html"> 2006</A><BR /> <br />
Water. A consommer avec moderation. France. Franche-Comté. Pupillin. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/11/toodle-loo-to-loue.html"> 2005</A><br />
Waterfall. France. Franche-Comté. Herisson. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/09/poligny-and-elsewhere.html"> 2005</A><br />
Weeping cherub. France. Hauts-de-France. Amiens. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/amiens-dieppe-and-le-havre.html"> 2015</A>BR /> <br />
Wine festival. France. Franche-Comté. Arbois. <A HREF="https://modestine.blogspot.co.uk/2005/08/bees-bisous-and-la-montagne-de.html"> 2005</A><br />
World War 2. Aviators. France. Franche-Comté. Arc-et-Senans. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
World War 2. Aviators. France. Franche-Comté. Lombard. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/flooded-france.html"> 2013</A><br />
World War 2. Resistance. France. Rhône-Alpes. Echallon. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/haut-jura.html"> 2013</A><br />
Zeppelins. England. Lincolnshire. Scunthorpe. <A HREF="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/scunthorpe.html"> 2016</A>BR /> <br />
Zodiac mosaics. France. Alsace-Lorraine. Sélestat. <A href="https://modestine2011.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eastern-france.html"> 2015</a><br />
Jill, Ian and Modestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04122859105828936321noreply@blogger.com