Cuba - Santa Clara and Villa San Jose del Lago

Our next stage was to move north to the centre of the island, Santa Clara, and then to the northern coast near Yaguajay before heading back to Havana for our last two nights and flying directly home. The bus took just over three hours as it couldn't go on the narrow twisty roads directly north over the mountains but had to retrace part of the route to Cienfuegos on the better roads. I am not sure I would like to drive through or into Cuban cities. The roads seemed reasonable but with horses, cycles and rickshaws everywhere, not to mention the occasional pothole and lack of road signs, it would have been stressful. Walking in the streets at night presented different problems as most cyclist did not have lights!

View over Parque Vidal. Our casa overlooked the park at the southern corner.

Santa Clara is also the resting place of some of the remains of the Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevara. According to the information, he was executed in Bolivia in 1967 in front of CIA officers and his remains eventually sent to Cuba in 1997. The mausoleum houses the remains of 17 guerrillas who died in the Bolivian campaign. We got a taxi to the Plaza de la Revolucion to visit the mausoleum and attached museum of Che's life. It was interesting to see the old photos concerning his life and writing but I had the feeling he would not have condoned the lavish expense of the whole complex whilst poverty was still prevalent.

The elevated statue of Che Guevara who is still remembered everywhere in Cuba for his freedom fighting and part in the revolution in 1958. The words mean "Always to victory".

We also went to the monument of "la Toma del Tren" where in December 1958 a group of rebels derailed an armored train; Che Guavara was instrumental in planning and implementing the plan that led to the overthrow of the Batista dictatorship and the start of a socialist revolution that is unique in the world and continues to this day.

We also visited other museums and the "Teatro la Caridad," dating from 1885 in the colonial period. We had a guide who spoke slowly telling us about the detailed restoration of the theatre and its splendid ceiling fresco. There was also a modern boulevard catering for tourists and I guess, the more affluent Cubans. Also in the back streets we had two excellent dinners at the Florida Center, excellent value with Spanish wine as well.

The only way we could find of getting to our next destination was by taxi as the bus mentioned by "Lonely Planet" didn't run, at least as far as we could find out. This was a pleasant journey but unfortunately the weather changed with a sharp drop in temperature and rain that lasted a few days. This coincided with me catching a cold and not feeling brilliant for a couple of days. This worked out pretty well as we were able to rest in the Cuban resort, Villa San Jose del Lago, having arranged with our driver to return at the beginning of the next week, at least with our limited Spanish and his lack of English, that is what we hoped to have arranged! The "Lonely Planet" advises that this villa makes a good base for seeing the area but this is no longer the case. We had to work hard to arrange an excursion to the Jobo Rosado Reserve as the reception at the villa couldn't understand why we wanted any excursion from the picturesque resort. We also found out later that the Ecotur office in Yaguajay was closed; we had been told this at the villa but visited it anyway to confirm!

The lake at the resort with its resident flamingos. The resort is known for its thermal pools but we weren't impressed and only went once. They needed cleaning and modernising.

The restaurant wasn't meant for foreign tourists. It was busy as there was a course on for a large Cuban group and we often found ourselves the only foreigners in there, not a bad thing but it did take a few trial and errors to figure out how the system worked. The visit to the reserve and Rancho Querete was great as we had a very knowledgeable guide to describe the flora and we saw many birds including the national bird, the Tocororo, which is endemic to Cuba (sorry, although we saw it several times I wasn't quick enough to get a photo!). We also saw Jutia (a small mammal resembling a cross between a marmot and squirrel) as the research centre was involved in a breeding programme to repopulate the local forest. I got the impression they had been hunted to extinction. The centre is only open until four in the afternoon and it would have been a nice location to stay and do some walking in the hills; apparently Exodus use to do some trekking into the hills in this area.
I have to include this photo taken on a local walk!

Rice drying on the roadside. Someone had confidence in their weather forcasting!

Well our driver did turn up, almost on time, and we were soon back in Santa Clara for the night before getting the bus back to Havana. This took almost four hours without stopping apart from allowing the men out on a dual carriageway to relieve themselves, socialism doesn't quite mean gender equality yet!

I am not sure I should be showing this as it may be helpful to the CIA if they are still considering overthrowing the Cuban Government. It is the guarded resting place for "Granma" the yacht that brought Fidel Castro and 81 rebels to Cuba in 1956 in their failed attempt to defeat the Batista army.

We spent a pleasant couple of days exploring parts of Havana we hadn't been able to get to on our first visit. These included the "Museo de la Revolucion", "Pavillon Granma", "Parque de Fraternidad, "Capitolio Nacional" and the bay front around the Malecon.

National Capital Building, the seat of the Cuban Government until 1959 and now occupied by the Cuban Academy of Sciences.

This made for a great end to the holiday and showed a slightly different side to Havana that we hadn't seen on the central part of the old city. 

I guess before signing off I should mention more about the cars that Cuba is famous for. We found a complete range of cars from the old american gas guzzlers of the 1950's to modern 2014 built cars and four wheeled drive vehicles with a good selection of old Russian cars as well including the Lada that was once seen in the UK but rarely now days. One thing that hit us about Havana was the amount of building renovation work that was in progress; I suspect things will change in the future as Cuba takes on more of the modern world, but hopefully it will retain the old world charm and sustainability that make it an example for us foreigners! We always found the Cubans themselves to be polite, generally happy and caring and never felt unsafe on the city streets, day or night, even two old codgers!

Hasta Luego

Cuba - Cienfuegos and Trinidad

How time passes; we were soon on our way to Cienfuegos leaving our casa early to catch the bus. This left from the main square next to the church which also seemed to be the meeting place for the school children waiting for their school buses. The journey felt particularly long (it took about seven and half hours in total with two stops and a pick-up in Havana); in retrospect it would have been better to get a taxi in Vinales and gone directly to Cienfuegos (by the way, the Cubans do not pronounce the "s") as the cost is not excessive. Again we were met with by a tricycle taxi who tied our luggage on the back and made off through the grid of streets (it is easy to find your way around the city as the streets are on a geometric grid system, thanks probably to the early French influence in the city). The casa we stayed at was a short ten minute walk to the main square, Parque Jose Marti, and the boulevard leading to the bay with a street market for tourists. 

The central park in Cienfuegos, "Parque Jose Marti" named after the Cuban freedom fighter and poet who lost his life in 1895 fighting for independence from Spain. Can you spot Helen?

We visited various museums, the theatre dating to colonial times (Teatro Tomas Terry), the Botanical Gardens and Punta Gorda for a boat trip into the bay. One of the museums, Museo Historico Naval Nacional, took some finding in a backstreet in the northern part of the city. It was interesting and mainly to do with the revolution but we felt a little self conscious as we were escorted by at least two women opening doors and switching lights on for us. 

Transport Nacional: One of the most popular forms of getting around in the city. These carriages take about six people. Note the poo collection bag!

We took a taxi (arranged through the casa) to the gardens, about a twenty minute drive out of the city (entrance 2.50 CUC and taxi 30 CUC). This really felt very tropical with the massive plants and colourful flowers, not to mention insects! A guide took us around and was a mine of information about the trees and plants. There is a cafe come restaurant at the gardens but little written information about the history of the park or indeed the flora, but I guess this will come with time.

Alan in the Botanical Gardens among the giant bamboo. The gardens were wet and humid after the nights rain and there were lots of biting insects around to keep us moving.

Lots of bryophtes and orchids around. We did spot Cuban Emerald humming birds but they are difficult to photograph; Cuba has three species of humming birds including the smallest Bee Hummingbird. There are no humming birds in the photo !

We organised the boat trip through the tourist information office (Infotur, there are offices throughout Cuba) and walked down to Punta Gorda, a peninsula on the south side of the city. We can't say this was a pleasant walk, although scenic it was very odorous, presumable caused by untreated sewage entering the bay from the city. It was a pity because the boulevard follows the waterline in places. We joined a group of German tourists on the cruise who had arrived by coach. We saw lots of large jelly fish and some Pelicans in the bay but it was interesting to see the locals going about their daily life on the waters edge.

Photo taken on our trip in the bay with the Castillo de Jagua in view (a fort built to protect the entrance to the bay, top left in photo).  Near here the bay opens to the Caribbean Sea.

We left Cienfuegos after lunch the next day for the short bus ride to Trinidad and one of my favourite cases of the trip, Casa Colonial run by Barbara and Nancy situated about five minutes walk from the Plaza Mayor and Plaza Carillo. The food was great and the accommodation very pleasant with two private terraces. Although they spoke little English, they did speak Spanish slowly for us and together with gestures we managed to organise most of our outing through them and their contacts.

The lower terrace of "our" casa in Trinidad. This is where we ate our breakfast and some evening meals

The main things we wanted to do in Trinidad, apart from the usual exploring in the central area, was to spend a day at the beach, try the train along the sugar-cane valley and visit the mountains at Topes de Collantes. The Ancon beach is just a short taxi ride from the centre and easily reached. By three in the afternoon we decided we'd had enough sun and sea for one day so returned to the casa before finding somewhere to eat.

Under the shade at Ancon Beach, south of Trinidad. Our taxi was an old Ford Consul that had a Russian engine and very well restored inside with wooden panels replacing the original.

The train along the Valle de los Ingenios gave us another chance to see the countryside and villages. This stopped at the village of Manaca iznaga where we bought some table linen at the market and had some refreshments. The train then went further along the valley before shunting and returning with a stop for lunch. This proved impossible as the restaurant had been booked by a tour group so we advise other independent travellers to take along a snack and enjoy the break in peace!

Linen market at Manaca iznaga, our brief stop on the train journey.

The trip up into the mountains to the north of Trinidad to Topes de Collantes proved interesting because we managed to get a taxi driver who was hell-bent on cutting all the corners on the way up and racing all the downhills to gain speed for the inclines! We decided to follow the Sendero Caburni to a waterfall in the valley and arranged to meet the taxi driver about four hours later. We set-off with threatening rain down a steep and rocky hillside, contouring at times. Our views were limited because of the dense vegetation and trees but we finally reached an opening that gave us spectacular views of the waterfall. This would not be a good walk in the drier parts of the year! We made surprisingly good progress on our climb back into the sunshine and had time for a beer and malanga frites (malanga is a hairy tuba grown locally) in a restaurant, Villa Caburni, near the start of the walk.

Helen making the final descent to the waterfall. It proved difficult to get a good photo of the falls because of the contrasting light conditions near midday, but it is around the corner to the right, you'll have to take my word for it!

It would be remiss not to include some photos of Trinidad itself, such a quaint city with its cobbled centre powered by tourist but with normal life going on all around. In the market we bought a set of wooden place mats made of different coloured natural woods depicting various fruits, birds and fish; I can't imagine how long the detailed jig-saws had taken to complete. We did the "photo walk" mentioned in the "Lonely Planet" and can recommend this as you see another side to the city. The walk is made easier with the detailed map obtainable from the Infortur office.

View towards the Plaza Major taken from the top of the Museo Historic Municipal.

We did find a private internet cafe, Cafeteria las Begonias, so for the first time on the trip we were able to contact home. We then made a last visit to our favourite plaza, Plaza Carrillo, to see sunset. By now we had become familiar with the maze of the street layout that had confused us to start with!

Cuba - Rural Valle de Vinales

We caught the mid-day bus to Vinales arriving in the evening to be met at the drop-off by the son of the casa owner. The trip was fine with one ten minute stop at a service parador with toilets. It was a short walk to the edge of the village and our accommodation for four days. The Vinales valley is edged by the unmistakable flat topped hills they call "Mogotes" which rise to around 400 m.

A view across the Valle de Vinales to the Mogotes where we walked to see sunrise. This photo was taken from Balcon del Valle near the Hotel los Jazmines which is south-west of Vinales along a steep and winding road.

Opposite our casa we watched the farmers busy working in the fields, mainly using manual methods with the help of oxen and horses. The rural scenes gave me the feeling of stepping back in time to the era of our great grandparents in rural England. They farmed in a more sustainable way compared with modern western agriculture with small mixed farms and without the use of artificial pesticides or fertilisers. The animals provided the labour for the heavy jobs and also the manure to feed the crops and fruit trees.

Typical scene near our casa with oxen ploughing the fields in the morning before the main heat of the day. We saw chickens and hens everywhere and were told they hear where they lay their eggs so hen houses aren't needed; I guess this is truly free range eggs, nice in the tortilla at breakfast.

We did a couple of interesting walks in the valley and hills to get views of the sunset and sunrise. This was entirely on farms tracks and paths through the homesteads and gave us a great impression of rural life and the vegetation in the valley.

This farmstead photo was taken on our sunset walk and is typical of the many buildings we passed on the path through the various fields. Some of these had solar power (110 V) to run refrigerators and lighting. We were told this was financed by the government.

The sunset walk ended at a farmstead for a "sundowner" and demonstration of cigar tobacco rolling.

The mist dispersing on our sunrise walk through the valley. Here, as in most places in Cuba we saw the "Turkey Vultures" (Cathartes aura) soaring overhead, the large numbers suggesting there is plenty of carrion around in the rural areas and probable road kill nearer the cities.

We also had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours walking around the casa owners farm, very much a mixed farm of crops including beans, tobacco, maize, pineapple, yucca, plantain, (the last two making nice chips that are popular in Cuba), sugar cane and lots of fruit trees, e.g. lime, orange, guava, mango and bananas and of course pigs, free range hens and goats used for milking. They had a new tobacco drying house that was made from locally sourced material and looked very impressive.

A new tobacco drying shed set against the background of the Mogote cliffs.

In Vinales we also visited the impressive botanical gardens, El Jardin de Caridad, dating back 100 years, the caves (Cueva del Indio), Mural de la Prehistoria (a cliff hand painted) and outdoor market selling a variety of local crafted wooden ornaments. We never did get the tour bus (Hop On/Off) although we caught glimpses of it from time to time and did try and wave it down. In the end, we got an old blue American "Chevy" taxi to take us around at about the same costs as the bus plus we had some entertainment from the elderly driver who explained the engine wasn't original but a Russian engine and it had great fuel economy (75 km per litre ! although free wheeling down hills helped). Also in Vinales, as in the rest of Cuba that we visited, we were quite taken by their wooden rocking chairs on the verandas of most house; may be a future woodworking project!. We can certainly recommend this area for a visit but we were told it gets very busy later in high season (officially starting about the 15 November) with the daily tour buses from Havana. We noticed that the other tourists seemed to be mainly German and French who had come from beach resorts for a day visit to Vinales and those we met in the casas where mainly younger Germans.

Cuba - La Havana Vieja, the Start of our Months Trip

It is now 17 th December the day that relations between Cuba and the USA thawed a little with the release of the three of the five Cuban prisoners from jail in the USA. We have just returned from a Cuban trip and often saw signs for the campaign "Give me Five Obama". 

We flew from Gatwick directly to the capital Havana to a completely different environment and of course climate with temperatures in the mid twenties to early thirties, so what a shock to the system not to mention, culture. 

We had planned the trip for some time with the aim of seeing as much of the country as possible but taking time to see each area. We started with a few days in Havana before moving to the rural west in the Pinar del Rio province and the village of Vinales set in a valley among the flat topped hills or Mogotes. From there we went  back to Havana and onto Cienfuegos for three days before moving further south to the famous city of Trinidad close to Playa Ancon and the Topes de Collantes and the mountains to the north. It was only a relatively short hop from there to the centre of the island, Santa Clara the city connected with the revolutionary Che Guevara. We then decided to take a few days in a Cuban resort in an isloated region near the north coast at a small place near Mayajigua west of Yaguajay with the forest reserves in the mountains to the south and Parque Nacional Caguanes to the north extending to the coast. After this we returned to Santa Clara overnight before spending our last couple of days back at the start, in Havana.

We mainly stayed in "Casas Particulares" which are similar to the Indian "Homestays". These a privately run houses that are registered by the government to provide accommodation for tourists and generally provide clean rooms with en-suite together with breakfast and options for an evening meal. Although English wasn't often spoken, we got by with our beginners Spanish and found the owners very helpful and often happy to help-out with planning activities during our stay. The food was always good and in abundance but I think they were more accustomed to providing breakfasts for Germans and Dutch as we always had meat and cheese on offer in the mornings but no matter, we had lots of fruit where ever we went. The cost was typically 25 CUC per night for the bed, 5 CUC per person for breakfast (desayuno in Cuban Spanish) and 12 CUC per person for dinner (cena). In the Casas, drinks were about 2.5 CUC for a Mojitos, 2 CUC for Cuba Libre (Rum and Coke) and 1 CUC for a Kola (the Cuban version of Coke). We changed money in the banks (always BFI) and got about 1.52 CUC for a pound sterling (they call libra esterlina) and the same in the Cadaches (Exchange Bureau), although in these you are likely to have to join a long queue. We had no need of the local currency, CUP.

We travelled the longer distance on the Viazul buses and once we got accustomed to the system, we found them fine if not too cold because of the air conditioning! Otherwise we used taxis, mostly old American cars or Russianas as well as Bici-taxis (pedal powered tricycles). We did plan the trip so that the casas were reserved and we only had to phone them the day before to confirm. Likewise we booked the bus routes and paid for them in the UK. However, we still had to go the the bus stations and get a ticket well before the bus departed and also make sure our luggage went on the same bus as us. Each station seems to have its own system with dealing with passengers, but generally it worked fine, you just have to go-with-the-flow. 

Our first casa in the Plaza Vieja (we are in the far corner on the second floor). This photo was taken from the "Camera Obscura" high above the plaza. The buildings here have been extensively renovated. The square also acted as the playground for school children during the day and of course musicians for most of the day and night!

Many of the older Spanish period buildings were photogenic and with the widespread renovation operations now in progress, they will look fantastic in the future. Other areas, some adjacent to the Plaza Vieja, look in need of repair and in some streets it was fun trying to avoid all the potholes and road works whilst watching for the numerous tricycles bombing around you. We spent the days in Havana exploring the main streets such as Obispo, Mercaderes and San Ignacio, doing the suggested walking tour describe in the Lonely Planet, visiting the numerous historical museums, the Casillo de la Real Fuerza overlooking the bay, the Museo del Rum near the harbour and also the tour on the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus which starts from the Parque Central adjacent to the Hotel Inglaterra.

This is in Plaza San Francisco de Asis just north of Plaza Vieja and is labelled "La Conversaction"  highlighting the current need for dialogue in society. It is by the French sculptor Etienne and was donated to the city in 2012 by Vittorio Perrotta. It was being polished when we first saw it, so we returned later to see this real marvel.

I couldn't resist this monument to Sancho Panza, the squire to Don Quixote. At first I thought it was Don Quixote but the "paunch" (Panza is "belly" in Spanish) gave him away. There is also a well known restaurant in Vedado another part of Havana with the same name!

More of Havana on our return at the end of the holiday.

South Downs Way - part II

I've just finished the final leg of the South Downs Way (SDW, 30 th August to 4 th September), five days walking totaling about 100 km or 63 miles. Doug and I met in Amberley (West Sussex) and finished in Eastbourne (East Sussex), the end of the route. If you recall we did the first part from Amberley to Winchester last September. To our amazement we had good weather as last year with only one shower of rain over the whole route.

The first night we stayed at Foxleigh Barn near Amberley directly on the SDW. Amberley is a convenient place to get to with good rail connections to London and the south coast of England. From there we quickly gained the heights of the South Downs to follow the ridge east over grassland and sheep country giving great views to the coast and inland over the Weald. After descending to the A24 road we then climbed again to gain the heights of Chanctonbury Ring Fort (about 238 m). Here we found a Dew Pond to have lunch (where the photo below was taken towards the " Ring"). We came across many Dew Ponds on our route as they are watering hollows made in the chalk landscape to store water for animals. They were traditional lined with clay to keep rainwater from permeating through the chalk fissures but today, the modern equivalents have a sandwich of straw and plastic to hold the water. Some had become disused and full of grass and soil whilst others seemed to be well maintained and used by the sheep and cattle. It was near here that we met some Indian tourists who wanted to see and photo some sheep so we were able to direct them to an adjacent field full of sheep; they'd definitely come to the right place!

View to "Chanctonbury Ring" and Hill Fort from near the a Dew pond, our stop for lunch on 31 st August, our first day of the walk.

An example of one of the many Dew Ponds we came across, this one is Burnt House Dew Pond we passed on the 2nd September.

After this we diverted on the Monarch's Way to the village of Bramber staying at the Castle Inn just before the bridge that crosses the River Adur. One of the locals told us it had been very misty for most of the day and they hadn't seen the biplanes from the Shoreham air display that we'd watched from the Downs for most of the day.

The following morning started fine but soon clouded over and began to drizzle as we climbed back on to the Downs and made our way east to Truleigh Hill (216 m) where we had morning tea outside the Youth Hostel. This year I carried a stove and two cups to make Darjeeling tea as we passed the day, such comforts!

Tea break outside the YHA Truleigh Hill just after a shower of rain, the only rain of the trip. There is a water tap here.

The SDW does have marked water points where you can refill with potable water. We managed to have one about midpoint of each of the first four days.

A welcome water tap on route, these are mentioned in the guide book.

Continuing on the ridge over several minor hills we reached "Devil's Dike" one of the larger combes (sometimes spelt coombe or coomb) of the Downs together with a pub connected by road to the valleys and Brighton (with a frequent bus service!). Here we passed a moment with a refreshment in the pub before heading to find a sheltered spot to eat our sandwiches. The SDW then took us down to Saddlecombe to climb over West Hill (211 m) and then descended towards Pyecombe to find a track north to Clayton and the Jack and Jill pub on the A27 road. This track proved very muddy at the northern end but brought us close to the rear of the Inn and within sight of the Jack and Jill windmills above the village of Clayton. The proprietor promised sandwiches for the morning and a cooked breakfast to set us up for another day on the hills.

The following day was a little misty to start with but soon cleared as we approached "Keymer Post", the boundary between West and East Sussex County. From there it was a short walk to the highest point in Sussex, "Ditchling Beacon" at 248 m altitude. Soon after this we got our first views of the white cliffs on the coast that lead to the "Seven Sisters" and also the river estuaries. We met some friends at "Blackcap" who completed the walk for the day, descending to Housedean Farm and our accommodation nearby at Newmarket Inn near the A27.

First sight of the Chalk Cliffs on 2nd September from "Balmer Down" near "Ditchling Beacon", an agricultural landscape and still with lots of sheep grazing.

 The following day was one of our longer days about 16 miles (26 km)  as we again climbed back up to the Downs around Cold Coombe making tracks to the south-east  to meet the road to the village of Rodmel. We continued to Southease and the River Ouse valley. There is a English Heritage Swing Bridge over the Ouse that has recently been refurbished (2010) costing something like £1.7 m. Here we decided to contemplate the mechanism whilst eating lunch sheltered from the slight wind from the east.

Southease village green on the road to the Swing Bridge over the River Ouse. The village once had a thriving fishing trade. The village church, also next to the green, dates back over a thousand years.

Our guidebook warned us that there was a water point in the vicinity of Itford farm on the other side of the railway. It didn't mention that there was a Youth Hostel and canteen (together with water point!) so we were able to get an ice cream as desert to our lunch and take another break! The Hostel at Itford Farm is relatively new (opened by the Queen in October 2013) and apart from accommodation in the buildings, has some camping pods so worth knowing about for any future visits as there is little accommodation in this area so close to the SDW. Anyway, we still had a fair walk to do and climbed again onto the Downs and passed more Dew Ponds near Itford Hill where we watched a rider exercising their horse on the open down-land.

The next section was a great walk along the ridge of the Downs with the Low Weald to the north and of course views to the coast. At the end of the day, it seemed a long walk to descend into the valley to Alfriston and our Bed and Breakfast accommodation ("Chesnuts Cottages"). This is a quaint village with three pubs (I think, although we only went for a meal in the "Ye Olde Smugglers Inne") with plenty of places to stay and eat.

Cathedral of the "Downs" in Alfriston village on the morning of our last day. The early morning sunshine gave promise of  a great walking day.

We awoke to a bright morning and the prospects of our final day on the trail. This was perhaps our most varied day on the walk as it involved a river side stroll along the Cuckmere river towards the estuary, then a climb through woods on the valley side before a stiff climb over the "Seven Sisters" with views of the Channel (and France on a clearer day!) to reach "Beachy Head" before descending into Eastbourne.  The guidebook said it was 10.5 miles in total but the signs on route indicated it was 13 miles. My GPS confirmed it was nearer 14 miles (22 km), this is 3 miles to Exceat and 11 miles for the rest of the way. I reset my GPS at Exceat and when we reached Eastbourne it indicated a total ascent of  560 m (this excludes the hills before Exceat). So beware, all is not what it seems! Above Exceat we had great views of the valley and the meandering river towards the estuary as we drank our morning tea.

The sea at last as we leave the Cuckmere Estuary to climb the start of the "Seven Sisters" cliffs to Eastbourne.

The walk over the "Seven Sisters" was easy enough with again views in every direction reminding me of the South West Coastal Path. We descended at one point to Birling Gap for a drink at a cafeteria before leaving the car park (again serviced by buses from Eastbourne) to ascend to get views of the lighthouses and the final obstacle before Eastbourne. We stopped at "Beachy Head" to eat our lemon drizzle cake supplied with our sandwiches and chat with a volunteer who was watching for possible suicide attempts; I hope she didn't mistake us for them. Here we heard lots of German voices and teenagers enjoying the sunshine and open air, possibly language students resident in Eastbourne.

Looking back over to part of the "Seven Sisters", the chalk cliffs in East Sussex. In the foreground is " Birling Gap" with tour buses and refreshments. We met lots of German students touring the area.

"Beachy Head" lighthouse in the distance and also our last climb of the walk to "Beachy Head"itself before descending to Eastbourne.

The rest of the way was straight forward, down hill over down-land and through woodland before a steep descent into the town to find our bed for the night at "The Sheldon", very pleasant with a good choice for breakfast before our separate journeys home. We finished our trip with  pleasant curry meal and stroll along the promenade. The pier had recently had a fire and was closed but should be open soon. Judging from the evening stroll, Eastbourne is popular with foreign students and pensioners (not to mention hikers and cyclist, probably also in both age categories!).

Our destination and end of the trek in sight as we approach the beaches of  Eastbourne.

Well to finish, this is a pleasant walk, the first section in the west is less frequented than the east (mainly I suspect because of the poorer road access) and there are places where accommodation is not available, so planning can be important. My favorite days were the last two days because they were the most varied, although as I said, the most populated. Weekends can get busy with cyclists so if you have an aversion to being overtaken at speed, avoid weekends! Having said this, last year on the western section at the same time of year, we only met a handful of people on The Way (as we got to call the route) over five days. Needless to say the route is well marked but an OS Explorer map is needed to find accommodation/campsites and paths to and from The Way and also identify distant features inland and along the coast..

A trek through Fish River Canyon in Namibia, Africa

This is a trek Helen and I did in early May 2005 before we starting this Blog. I was recently tidying up some old files and came across the photos and my pocket diary so I thought it would be useful for me to put it together here. The Fish River is the longest river in Namibia (about 800 km) and reaches its confluence with the Orange River in South Africa about 100 km east of the Atlantic Ocean.
We enjoyed the trek and had some special times scrambling the route and crossing the river through rapids and deep sections coming out intact if not warn out. The route is about 80 km with the short-cuts and can take between 4 and 7 days depending on the conditions in the canyon. There are NO facilities in the canyon and once you're down there, its up to you to get out; there is no rescue team waiting to airlift you! Water can be a big issue if the river is low or you have to dig for water or indeed, as we experienced, the river has a moderate flow. Having said that, with the limited number of people allowed in at any one time, you are guaranteed a unique experience of Africa. Obviously over 9 years have passed since we did the trek but I hope, with the aid of my pocket diary, I have recalled things correctly particularly the photos.

Western Crete - a short visit

We've just spent a week on the Greek island of Crete staying in a house in Nopighia (Nopigia) situated on the north coast at the western side of the island. The accommodation was facing Kissamos Bay (also known as Bay of Kastelli) , literally our veranda had steps to a beach with only a few more across sand and gravel to let us cool down in the Mediterranean. The village has a small shop and three Tabernas within easy walking distance. The road to the east terminates after a couple of kilometres and after passing a campsite, becomes a track that leads along the shoreline to a small chapel under the hills. We shared our holiday with Iain and Elaine, Helen's brother and his wife.

"Our Bay" looking from the east towards the town of Kissamos (Kastelli) and across the bay.

The view from our veranda after sunset looking west across the bay towards the mountains; the sun had set behind the mountain.

With our transport, a small car for the narrow roads, we were able to explore the far-western part of the island. One day we did a circular route passing through Topolia to the Monastery at Chrisoskalitisa and then south to the beaches at Elafonisos. This small village was a total surprise to us as we neared the beach to see hundreds of sunbathers with their coaches and cars all over; not a place for us to stay long in the heat of the day! We returned to Kissamos by the coastal road that climbed to give great views over the various bays, scrub and farmland.

As the next day was cooler, we did a walk through the Irini Gorge between Agia Irini and Soughia. We had a few drops of rain in the morning but the temperature soon reached the mid twenties. The path was well marked over fairly rough ground with adequate water points and the luxury of toilets and seats at points along the way. The gorge narrows to a few feet at one point but it was still a pleasant temperature with the shade from lots of vegetation which we were told was particularly lush this year. We only met a few people, mainly towards the end of the gorge, near a Taberna where we had a welcome lemonade. 

Helen making her way along the footpath as it carved a pleasant walk under the cliffs.

Here you can see the narrowest part of the Irini Gorge; just in case you are wondering, the red arrow shows where you have to squeeze through!

We had a late lunch in Soughia (Sougia) overlooking the beach. This is a small village with a bus service to Chania and also to and from the gorge.

The village of Soughia looking from the west of the main beach. The coastal path goes across this section. The beach itself is grit and pebbles and didn't attract many sunbathers in-spite of the sunshine.

After a break, we spent a further few days exploring the areas to the south including the Botanical Gardens near Fournes, the oldest Olive tree in the world (and museum about the Olive industry) at Ano Vouves, a vineyard near Dhrapanias, the Rodhopou Peninsular and Chania city. The Botanical Gardens were excellent with a restaurant and well-marked paths and plant labels, so I have lots of photos to educate myself! We did learn a lot about the main agriculture of the area, olive growing, and were surprised by the quality and variety of the local wines some of which we tasted at the vineyard.

The oldest olive tree in the world reported to be over three thousand years old and still producing olives. Olive trees are fire and drought resistant. However, in the Botanical Gardens we saw several old olive trees that had been destroyed in a fire that swept through the park.

In western Crete it is clear that the main means of making a living for the locals is through tourism with many Tabernas and places catering for tourists that either made their own way around or by mini "trains" or coaches from the main beach resorts or centres. It was very busy in Chania so I dread to think what it is like in the main season in July and August. I think for us either May-early June or September would be ideal as there is little rain and temperatures are usually in the mid-twenties. We had a few days above 30 C but I gather that this is unusual for early June. There are many "gorge walks" and also a long distance E4 path but I understand that this is not too well marked. I used the "Topo 25" Sameria-Sougia 1 : 25,000 map for the walk (not really necessary) and the "Harms-Verlag" 1:100,000 touring map of western Crete which has contours and many minor tracks are marked if you do want to go off-road.

Finally our flight to Bournemouth was delayed for three hours because of the French air traffic controllers actions. Each time we have been to Europe this year they have done something to upset things!!

North Devon in the Wind and Sunshine

We've been away for about ten days in North Devon, on the coast at a small holiday village, Woolacombe, overlooking the coastline and out towards Lundy Island. Morte Bay, probably better known today for it's two mile sandy beach called Woolacombe Sands that stretches between Baggy Head (to the east) and Morte Point, both reknown for their rocks that have caused many shipwrecks over the centuries. We recall this area in particular from visits when walking the South West Coastal Path and also on the Devon "coast to coast" cycle route (27) that passes through Mortehoe and Woolacombe to reach the "Tarka Trail" at Braunton. It is a particularly beautiful section of coastline with numerous coves, sandy beaches and plenty of places to stop and enjoy the sea air and food. The village itself is very dependent in tourism and reading a little about the history of the area, it seems it has been this way since the Victorian era.

Sunset from Woolacombe showing the treacherous rocks off Morte Point (centre right). Lundy is a little to the left but not visible until later on our holiday when the misty horizon cleared. The island is due west of Morte Point.

We met up with Bex, Tony and of course Sam (we're now first time grandparents with Sam now 11 weeks old!!); they shared the apartment with us for part of the holiday. To start with the weather wasn't too good with high wind and lots of wave action and foaming on the beach making walking very refreshing. However, we didn't get the predicted rain during the daytime and later in the week, the sun showed and the wind dropped bringing us some summer weather and enough surf to keep twenty or so surfers in action. We managed several excursions including a coastal walk to Croyd, Heddons Mouth and up a valley to Mortehoe, a nearby village. We also hired a "Tramper" (http://www.countrysidemobility.org/) for Helen's Dad to go between Fremington Quay and Inslow (on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet) stopping for lunch at Inslow, about 3.5 miles from Fremington Quay.

Turbulent scene looking from near Morte Point across Woolacombe Sands to Vention and Putsborough in the far distance.

Certainly lots to do around this area and part of the coastline, a place we will no doubt return to many times.

Singalila Ridge Trek, Indian Himalaya

I have just returned from the Indian Himalaya region having completed a trek along the Singalila Ridge from Dhodray to Phalut and then through the forest down to Ramman and finishing at Rimbik. There was four of us on the trek including my friend from Namibian days and the South Downs Way, Doug. Neither of us had trekked this high before so we had come prepared for possible altitude problems. The total walking distance was 83 km with 5142 m ascent and 5082 m descent, reaching a maximum altitude of 3598 m at a peak near Phalut. The whole trip was over two weeks staying in Delhi, flying to Bagdogra and then acclimatising in Darjeeling for a day before driving to the trail-head at Dhodray. At the end of the trek we went to Kalimpong for a day sight seeing and a leisure afternoon.

The drives to the various points were interesting in themselves as they we were on narrow roads and tracks along steep winding gradients that seemed to last forever (the average speed was probably about 20 mph anyway). In many places they were trying to maintain the roads and prepare for the monsoon season which starts in June. It was interesting to see the old short-wheel based Landrovers still in use on the roughest tracks and probably the only vehicle with enough clearance underneath to surmount the steep rock and routed terrain.

Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) in Darjeeling, established in 1954 with a Director of Field Training, Tenzing Norgay (who with Edmund Hillary first climbed Mt Everest). Darjeeling was the home town of Tenzing Norgay.

Darjeeling still has a narrow gauge steam railway which we visited at Ghum near Darjeeling. The total line is about 78 km long but the lower section from Siliguri has been out of action since 2010. We didn't get to see the railway museum at Ghum but had many glimpses of the "Toy Train" between Ghum and Darjeeling. Darjeeling itself is at about 2200 m elevation and we stayed in the "Little Tibet" hostel conveniently near the main square and a promenade giving views of the mountains and the third highest peak in the world, Kangchenjunga (also spelt Kanchenjunga referring to its five peaks or "Five Treasures of Snow") at 8586 m elevation. Alas, even with early morning strolls to the promenade I didn't manage even a glimpse of the peaks as the mist shrouded the valleys to the north.

The Himalayan Steam Train between Darjeeling and Ghum.

We had a very pleasant day in Darjeeling visiting the "Happy Valley" tea plantation, zoo, HMI, monastery and Tibetan Refugee Centre before starting the trek at Dhodray. After joining our "expedition" of 7 horses, 2 horsemen, 1 cook and 3 assistants, 2 sherpas and a guide, our first day was a relatively easy climb to Tonglu (2900 m). In fact, we didn't meet the horses and handlers until leaving Tonglu. I felt very guilty about all the help we were receiving for the trek which was in complete contrast to my self-sufficiency on previous treks in Europe. My only defence is that we were providing employment in a relatively poor region of India and had to conform to the local customs; I still felt uneasy at times!
Our first camp was in a col exposed to a strong and cold wind. We did get a glimpse of the mountains and Kangchenjunga as snow peaks hanging amongst the distant clouds giving an impression of their magnitude.

Our camp at Tonglu with the mountains in the sky in the early morning mist.

"Lakeland Rover" undergoing repairs in one of the villages we passed through.

The next day of about 7 hours walking was harder as it involved several ascents and descents as we progressed northwards along the ridge to Kalpokhari. We saw lots of Lammergeier or Bearded Vultures, sometimes as many as twenty floating overhead. These are now rare in Europe with the largest populations in the Pyrenees with about 29 breeding pairs in 2008. They are known because of their method of dropping bones from the air onto rocks and then feeding on the exposed marrow in the bones. We also saw our first Rhododendron flowers, the bright red flowers on hillsides as we progressed upwards. The bushes further down had finished flowering and we were seeing the tail-end of the display. I guess you would have to come at the beginning of April to get a more extensive display.

Forested slopes as out path winds into the distance to the higher peaks.

Our horses and  helpers moving on to make camp before sunset

I'm not altogether sure of when we were in India or Nepal as we were following the border ridge. I do know that on two nights we camped in Nepal! and that we had to visit several army posts to register our movements in the hills.

Looking backwards as we start another day on the trail. One of the horses is still resting as we leave camp at eight in the morning.

 The camp involved our tents, a kitchen, a mess tent and a toilet tent all set to give a good view and maximise the impact of any wind. The day for us started at 6.15 am with a cup of black tea brought to our tents and then a basin of water at 6.30 in time to pack our gear before breakfast at 7.15 am. This usually involved a bowl of porridge and more tea. Generally the food provided was excellent and a good combination of carbohydrates, protein and fruit to keep us going. The assistants also gave us boiled water for drinking to which I added chlorine tablets to be sure but the others didn't and were fine as far as I know. To spoil us further, one of the assistants often came to meet us before we made camp and provided hot fruit juice for the final leg (often involving a uphill climb!) The temperatures dropped at night and with the cold wind blowing on the ridge, I needed a base layer and down jacket to keep myself warm at dinner time. Following dinner, we had a briefing about the next day from our leader Rigzin and then we retired to the warmth of our sleeping bags.

Can you spot a Griffin Vulture? A Rhododendron bush is in the foreground.

We soon reached the village of Sandakphu where we stopped for some refreshments and tasted some Rhododendron spirit, probably not a wise move as alcohol and altitude are not good room-mates. Anyway neither of us were affected with altitude problems although one of the others in the group was suffering headaches and had swollen feet, both symptoms of altitude sickness even though we had made a gradual ascent. Doug and I both noticed the effects on our breathing making uphills more of an effort than usual, but nothing serious.

Our tea and spirit stop at the "Sherpa Lodge" where we met a octogenarian  trekker, an American lady who had lived in Nepal for 40 years.

We didn't meet many other trekkers on the whole trip, just five Danish girls volunteering in Darjeeling, a German couple with a guide and an American lady. The Danes left the route at Sandakphu and we didn't see them again. We had hoped for a glimpse of the main mountain range from the hill at Sandakphu but without avail either at night or first thing in the morning; it seemed that Kangchenjunga and her treasures were being coy!

The scenery at high elevation changed as a fire started by lightning had swept through the area in the 1980''s; shrubs or trees had not reestablished, probably because of grazing pressures.

We continued ascending and descending but gradually gaining height and having the pleasure of some "cross-country" off the gravel and rocks paths through Yak pastures bathing in the morning sunshine.

Yaks  and  cross breeds with cows (Dzo and Zhoms). It gets complicated as we discuss this on a hillside, apparently Yaks in Tibet are all male and females are called Dri or Naks. I think Rigzin gave up on us at this stage.

We soon reached the highest point of our travels near Sabargram. Unfortunately the wind increased again and the cloud came down on our somewhat exposed camping spot. Another night with a flapping tent but at least we were all tired and I doubt whether much would have kept us awake. I awoke early to try and get a glimpse of the mountains before the cloud settled and did get a view at about 5 am before the weather worsened. After tea we made a dash to a nearby peak (3695 m) to try and see further but again we were thwarted.

Tibetan prayer flags at the summit and as you can see the view wasn't great but I did get photos of several flowers in an unlikely setting!

We now started a two day hike down into the valleys to reach Samadeen village and then Rimbik, our destination. This was a very pleasant walk on village tracks through lush forests and over small streams in the shade passing a few isolated houses and villages. We endured our first major thunderstorm at Samadeen and took shelter in a local house before returning to our tents through the slush of hailstones. The tents held out well with no leakages.
The following day we called into see a small school that KE Adventure had sponsored and were able to watch the morning assembly and the discipline dished out to the juniors by the prefects, I'll say no more!

Now into forest and streams as we descend from the main ridge.

Prayer flags at the village school. They are arranged in order, blue (sky and space), white (air and wind), red (fire), green (water) and yellow (earth) and are placed in windy places by Tibetans to bless the surrounding countryside.

After leaving the school we passed through the village of Ramman stopping on route for a cup of tea. The owner of the cafe or hostel was down in the valley so a neighbour served us. They made their own tea here from leaves collected from the valley slopes, a picturesque setting looking over the valley north to Sikkim.; foreigners need a permit to enter Sikkim.
 As we descended into the valley to cross the Shiri Stream, we passed many houses teetering on the valley side, the occupants making a living from produce such as cardamom and tea.

The hillsides were dotted with dwellings and terraces like this. We spotted one man mulching his Cardamom plants.

A few more zig-zags and we were at the suspension bridge (Srikhola Bridge) crossing the stream and in sight of our lunch stop. We watched as several loaded horses crossed the bridge and a women below collected forage for her animals from the stream side. To us the stream looked like a river; we knew that the rest of the day would be an uphill climb to the end of our trek at Rimbik and a welcome shower and cabin for the night.

A well used suspension bridge to cross the valley; we had lunch at the side of the bridge.

At Rimbik our hike abruptly ended in the evening and the next day we were whizzed off to the luxuries of Kalimpong high above the Teesta river to the east of Darjeeling. The Teesta is the life-line of Sikkim state flowing the length of the state and then down to join the Brahmaputra. The river was the colour of glacial and snow melt that I was familiar with from my Pyrenees treks. The road up to Kalimpong from the Teesta was unbelievable steep and involved several switch backs that amounted to a road on a screw spiral.

In Kalimpong we had a morning sight-seeing visiting a Buddist temple, local paper making business, cactus garden and finally Dr Graham's Orphanage/ School., and we then spent the afternoon in the central market. During the night we had a tremendous thunderstorm that awoke everyone but had passed by breakfast leaving a certain amount of havoc on the roads as we drove out to catch the plane to Delhi. The Teesta was now a dark brown colour clearly showing the impact of agriculture on soil erosion in the valleys.

And so ends my account. It was difficult to choose the photos as I have so many scenic shots. The only advice I can tender about the trip, for anyone contemplating it, is to make sure you have warm clothes for the nights, preferable a down jacket and also a good sleeping bag (a three season with silk liner did me OK). You may be in shorts during the day but once the sunsets, the temperature drops quickly to near zero and with the wind on the ridge, the wind-chill is considerable. 

What is the best time to go ? It is a toss-up whether you go for the milder weather in Spring and risk the low cloud and poor visibility or go for the colder and less predictable weather in autumn that often gives good visibility. The flowers and birds are more abundant in the Spring as well.
I have the GPX file for the route if anyone wants it.
That's all for now, the next trip is to North Devon and then to Crete in June.