Christmas

We had pre-Christmas sherry with Grandma FT, who was in fine form. With the dreaded lurgy lurking in several family members, Christmas Day was reorganised and Grandma Marks hosted a superb spread. We all joined in Hannah's Snowman Challenge (see video) which transformed Simo and Grandma into Snow People amid much merriment.

On Boxing Day, we lunched with The Eberts and had round two of present opening. In the evening, The Simpsons came out of quarantine and appeared for round three. The next day, we walked at Lyme Regis. Simo and Luke egged each other on sufficiently that they decided they 'had' to go in. Here they are enjoying themselves (video).

Mild Mid December

A day on The North provided a walk along Godrevy Beach and then across to Carbis Bay for a walk into St Ives. This light saturated corner of Cornwall always looks amazing - and it did again today. We sampled delicious Tregothan (English) tea and tea cakes; managed a brief amble before fish and chips and more wandering. We walked all 5 of St Ives' beaches and watched the lifeboats practicing ramming the beach (really). It was ridiculously warm for the middle of December.

Tim's Traditional Christmas Visit

Tim arrived for some pre-Christmas jolly japes: After taking in the excitement of the BIG city, we left Truro for Trellisick House and Gardens which were decked with holly and lit up. The Story Republic players sang to us and did a bit of festive storytelling. Later we watched 'Tomorrowland' which no-one understood. Then after rising early Tim experienced rowing the estuary in a howling South Westerly - and did very well. Then we set off on our bikes for The North coast, reaching Porthtowan. We crossed back to The South coast, through the mining trails before collapsing on the sofas to look at Tim's Vietnam pictures.

Newquay Gales

With howling Southwesterlies battering Cornwall, we popped over to The North coast to look at the waves. A walk along Fistral yielded interesting stones for craft ideas, the wind was whipping sand in great whirling patterns. We had very delicious fish and chips in town, had a look at the surfers by the harbour wall, took a romantic photo and then met Tim Mellors for coffee. Then we trawled the surfy shops for Christmas presents and by the time we got back to the car (parked half a mile from the nearest seawater) it was covered in salt spray. That's how windy it was!

Nige & Sarah

A nice walk round to Restronguet, pausing for a drink in the Pandora worked up an appetite for tapas in the evening. With the sun shining on Sunday, we took the opportunity to enjoy Gylly which was flat calm (apart from the wave that soaked Nige). A very nice weekend.

Sunday Saunter

While Claire trained in the gig, I tried out my sore back on the paddleboard. We both ended up crossing The Carrick Roads to St Mawes on a beautiful autumnal morning. On the way back I paddled under RFA Mounts Bay, docked opposite Kiln Quay.  

Hunting Success

 

For a second week, Sailability has provided the very pleasant bonus of fish supper: Trailing a spinner behind our boat means that omega 3-rich nutritious dinner can be acquired while enjoying a nice afternoon sailing. You can't get fresher fish.

Kynance Cove

October continues to provide beautiful days to spend in beautiful places. We picked Kynance Cove, where the once extinct (in this area) Cornish Choughs hopped about, alive and well and the sea sparkled under the distinctive serpentine rock outcrops. 

St Agnes

A break in the weather allowed us to take the air at St Agnes, walking above the cliffs. A seal bobbed in the surf. We meandered along to Chapel Porth on the way back to catch the last of the sunshine.

End Of Season

And so possibly the most awesome three weeks work I have ever had, came to an end.... with Claire out for the last week, we were able to really enjoy the wonderful island of Samos together.

The video captures some of the best bits.

More Scenic Vistas

Samos

 We hired a car and took a trip round some nice spots on the island.

We had lunch at a groovy cafe and then enjoyed a shady walk up to the smallest waterfall ever to enjoy  a sign in it's  honour. We had dinner up a mountain  at a quirky restaurant, moving on to dessert at our favourite cafe in Kokkari.

Beach Setup

The beachfront this morning...... what a really special place to work

Eastern Samos by Bike

On my day off, I took a bike ride  East to the sandy beach at Psili Ammos, then North to a little cove at Mourtia. I passed several groups of migrants making tbeir way to Samos Town. The beach had abandoned lifevests on it, telling the story of those who had made the short trip across from Turkey. Then I headed West up the North coast to the beautiful little town of Kokkari. After lots of photographing, I settled in at a harbourside cafe to enjoy a beer, lunch and write this blog. So far, a perfect way to spend my day off.

Turkey shrouded in the morning haze:

Morning Mist Over Turkey

The view this morning, as we set up the beach, was sublime.  Clouds hung in the Turkish mountains on the horizon, as the Mediteranean shimmered in the September sunshine.

Hotel Zefiros

 After a long overnight journey, the views from my new office are definately worth it!

Le Lac Pierre Blanche

After a big tidy up (sans guests) we headed up to the lake for a swim and sunbathe. I'll miss these guys!

Mont de la Chambre

With today being the last one of the summer season that the Les Breyeres cablecar is running up Mont de la Chambre, I took the opportunity to get some sunny panoramas. Above is Mont Blanc in the background and below is the view the other way looking South.

Mountain Adventure

There being a bike hire famine, on my day off Emily and I went to Val Thorens and tried out the Montagne Aventure. This involved climbs, cargo nets and three zip wire runs. lots of fun (video)

In the afternoon I did chilling

Streams

A bit of team yoga followed by a refreshing dip in lovely meltwater revives the parts that other things don't reach!

Rafting The Isère

Running from a glacier known as the Sources de l'Isère, the melt waters provide an exciting opportunity to pit your paddle against the might of the fast-flowing rapids. Exiting the raft early on allowed me time to enjoy the river all to myself before being picked up again. The trip seemed to be an endless succession of lumpy water rushing over the rocks, creating standing waves and unseen hazards. The classification is 3 (out of 5) with one class 4 rapid included. Basically pretty tasty!

Claire absolutely loved the whole journey - except the compulsory jumping in bit.... this occurred in the middle of a hailstorm, complete with thunder and lightning crashing overhead.

Our guide Gill felt so confident that he left the raft at several points, rejoining us for the tricky sections! It was a truly superb day, one to remember, as seen in the video.

Le Cochet

We hired harnesses and hats and headed for a rocky outcrop above St Martin. After asking directions for the via ferrata and following a chemin de terre up the hillside, we lunched in a meadow before setting off for the base of the route. We crossed boulder strewn landslides and began to get an idea of what we were letting ourselves in for as the ground dropped away.

We worked our way up the face of Le Cochet, relying on the staples and other aids but also trying to use the rock whenever possible to make the climbing a bit more 'pure'. The views were absolutely and literally breathtaking. . After scaling what we thought was the summit we found we still had another 40 minute climb to go. In all we ascended well over 400m. At the top we stood under the big white cross for selfies and panoramic enjoyment of our endeavors. The video probably does the climb more justice than the stills from it!