Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Jazz music in Penne d'Agenais
We went up to Penne d'Agenais with some friends of Mum and Dad's called Elaine and Owen. We had a meal at one of the restaurants, the Bombecul in the village and listened to a musician called Phyll, who played at our wedding. She plays the cello and sings. Harper also came to the restaurant - you can't imagine it in England, but they even bring out a special bowl with water for the doggy!
Monday, 12 July 2010
Domaine de France
Penne d'Agenais is the small village in France, near Agen in the Lot et Garonne region of France where Mum and Dad live. They moved here 7 years ago after retiring from teaching. They now run some gites and Chambre d'Hotes from their house, Domaine de France, which is just outside the village. We got married here 3 years ago.
Harper is going to be living here from now on so we have been introducing him to the local area.
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Galapagos Santa Cruz Island
Just after getting back from Mexico we headed to Galapagos for a week. A parent of a girl in our class, Tamia, has a place there and invited us to come and stay with them. There place was gorgeous (galapagosexclusivetours.com) and only a short boat taxi away from Puerta Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz. Tamia's Dad, Juan Carlos used to be a guide in the Galapagos Islands for 17 years so was an expert and seemed to know everybody! Last time we visited the Galapagos Islands we spend the majority of our time on a cruise and only stayed on the island of Isabela for 3 days so it was great to see Santa Cruz properly.
During the 6 days we were there, we managed to go kayaking, snorkelling and surfing. We managed to see lots of amazing wildlife and saw some breath taking views. Here are just a few of the pictures I took. I was in my element snapping away!
We went for an early morning swim at 'Las Grietas,'which is a series of cravaces. You walk along a natural path of volcanic rock to the beautiful site which has a channel of water between the rocks leading to the ocean. We went snorkelling there at 7 o'clock in the morning. There was not a person in site it was great! The place was only a half hour walk from where we were staying.
We hiked to Tortuga bay with Juan-Carlos and Tamia. We went on to the Mangrove area where we sat for over an hour (again we went really early in the morning so there was noone around apart from the animals). We then had a go at surfing on Tortuga Bay - the waves were great. We were both pretty hopeless but it was great fun. I'd love to have another go sometime!
We travelled 20mins to the East of the Islands with a friend of the family called Treecy. Again we left early to arrive before the other visitors and when it was cooler as the weather was scorching the whole time we were there.
On the last day we went up to the Highlands where you can see giant tortoises roaming around in the wild. The walk was lovely and we saw loads of wildlife.
Some friends from work, Mark, Miranda and Ewan were also on the Island at the same time as us so we met them for dinner and drinks most evenings. They did the cruise around the islands for the first half of their trip them came to Santa Cruz for the second week.
During the 6 days we were there, we managed to go kayaking, snorkelling and surfing. We managed to see lots of amazing wildlife and saw some breath taking views. Here are just a few of the pictures I took. I was in my element snapping away!
We went for an early morning swim at 'Las Grietas,'which is a series of cravaces. You walk along a natural path of volcanic rock to the beautiful site which has a channel of water between the rocks leading to the ocean. We went snorkelling there at 7 o'clock in the morning. There was not a person in site it was great! The place was only a half hour walk from where we were staying.
We hiked to Tortuga bay with Juan-Carlos and Tamia. We went on to the Mangrove area where we sat for over an hour (again we went really early in the morning so there was noone around apart from the animals). We then had a go at surfing on Tortuga Bay - the waves were great. We were both pretty hopeless but it was great fun. I'd love to have another go sometime!
We travelled 20mins to the East of the Islands with a friend of the family called Treecy. Again we left early to arrive before the other visitors and when it was cooler as the weather was scorching the whole time we were there.
On the last day we went up to the Highlands where you can see giant tortoises roaming around in the wild. The walk was lovely and we saw loads of wildlife.
Some friends from work, Mark, Miranda and Ewan were also on the Island at the same time as us so we met them for dinner and drinks most evenings. They did the cruise around the islands for the first half of their trip them came to Santa Cruz for the second week.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Mexico - Oaxaco and Mexico City
When we came back from Peru at Christmas the airline we flew with mucked us around so we were given $300 each of vouchers to fly anywhere we wanted- so we had to use them! We decided to visit Mexico because it was the cheapest location to visit from Quito. We arrived in Mexico City and only stayed for one night before heading to the city of Oaxaca. In Mexico City we found a great place to stay called Dakota Bed & Breakfast, it was a really funky designer place that was in a great location, near the World Trade Centre. The casa de cultura was down the road from our B&B so we explored it before heading to Oaxaca. 
Oaxaco is a beautiful colonical city to the South East of Mexico City. It took us 6 hours to get there on a bus. We stayed in a hotel called, 'The Swallows,' which had a beautiful courtyard with flowers hanging everywhere. We wondered around the tranquil streets of Oaxaca and enjoyed the ambiance of the place.
After a couple of days of relaxing we took a tour to some local sites outside of the city. One of the most impressive was the 'Arbol del Tule,' which is the widest tree in the world. It has an incredible circumferene of 58m!! The pictures don't do it justice. We also visited some local ruins outside of Oaxaca, which were pretty amazing. Below are just a few of the pictures I took.
On returning to Mexico City we stayed at the same B&B. The whole city is really modern and funky. There are pieces of modern art everywhere you look. We loved it. Not unlike Columbia, we had been warned about this dangerous place but felt really safe and enjoyed every minute of it. We were lucky enough to attend an amazing free photography exhibition by Willy Sousa depicting pictures and films of the different Mexican cultures. It was one of the best exhibitions I have ever been to. The clip below shows you a glimpse of his work.
During our 2 days in Mexico city, we also visited the impressive Anthropology museum and wondered through some contempory neighbourhoods. Below are a few pictures.
Oaxaco is a beautiful colonical city to the South East of Mexico City. It took us 6 hours to get there on a bus. We stayed in a hotel called, 'The Swallows,' which had a beautiful courtyard with flowers hanging everywhere. We wondered around the tranquil streets of Oaxaca and enjoyed the ambiance of the place.
After a couple of days of relaxing we took a tour to some local sites outside of the city. One of the most impressive was the 'Arbol del Tule,' which is the widest tree in the world. It has an incredible circumferene of 58m!! The pictures don't do it justice. We also visited some local ruins outside of Oaxaca, which were pretty amazing. Below are just a few of the pictures I took.
On returning to Mexico City we stayed at the same B&B. The whole city is really modern and funky. There are pieces of modern art everywhere you look. We loved it. Not unlike Columbia, we had been warned about this dangerous place but felt really safe and enjoyed every minute of it. We were lucky enough to attend an amazing free photography exhibition by Willy Sousa depicting pictures and films of the different Mexican cultures. It was one of the best exhibitions I have ever been to. The clip below shows you a glimpse of his work.
During our 2 days in Mexico city, we also visited the impressive Anthropology museum and wondered through some contempory neighbourhoods. Below are a few pictures.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Peru - Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable lake with, and South America’s largest lake – over 170km in length and 60km in breadth. According to legend, this is where the first Inca Manco Capac, son of the sun god Inti, emerged. At this altitude, temperatures average less than 15°C year-round. The air is unusually clear, so horizons seem limitless. Everyone told be I´d be freezing so I wore leggings underneath my trousers, two pairs of socks, leg warmers, three t-shirts and 2 jumpers underneath my coat. Typically, it was the warmest day of our whole trip and I had to strip off the layers! I got some great shots though as the sky was blue and the sun was shining, so I was happy. We had a whistle stop tour arriving on a night bus from Cusco to Puno. We arrived and headed straight on a 2 day one night tour of the lake. We visited 3 of the islands and stayed the night with a local family. It was a great experience and one not to be missed when visiting Peru.
We firstly headed to the Uros Islands which are made and re-made from the totora reeds which provide home, sustenance and transportation for their residents. These floating islands are the home of the Uros tribe, one which pre-dates the Incan civilization.The actual islands are amazing and they demonstrated how the islands are made and maintained from the reeds that grow in the Lake. As you walk across it, you can actually feel it moving under your feet - very cool indeed. We didn´t really like the whole situation as it just seemed like an act for the tourists. A woman came and sat next to us and starteed knitting, as soon as I asked about it, she brought out a whole load of textiles that she had created and asked me if I wanted to buy them. Luckily the rest of the tour was not like this...
We then left Uros and headed for a bigger natural island with 3 thousand inhabitants called Amantani. We arrived and were met by our host families. We were taken to our house for the night and introduced to the family. The lady was called Matilda, her husband was Oswaldo, they had three boys. The house was made out of clay with a corrugated iron roof. It was very basic but we loved the experience. The bed was made out of clay with a reed base!
After being shown around we headed to the main plaza on the island where the locals were celebrating New year. We were luck to see it as al 10 communities from around the island were present. Each community dresses up in a different way and they all play music and dance. The funny thing was that they all played their different music and danced at the same time in different areas around the square. It was as if there was a competition to see which group could be the loudest. It was unusualy because all the men tended to sit together and drink whilst the women sat around and gossiped together, it was rare to see a man and woman together.
After watching the festivities we walked up to the highest point of the island at 4100m to see the view. You could actually see Bolivia from the top. The lake is divided into Peru and Bolivia. We wondered back down and had dinner with our family. As a tip for the family, Tommy brought a very fetching hat!
We left early the next morning and headed to out final destination on the lake, the island of Taquile. The journey between the two islands was awful and I felt really sea-sick. We evertually arrived and walked for about an hour to the main plaza. The walk reminded me of the cliffs in Guernsey. We wondered around for a while before having our lunch. The islanders all run different restaurants for the tourists and take it in turns to cook the traditional quinoa soup followed by trout. We paid a fortune for the meal and I had 2 potatoes instead of the trout! It was one of the best views we´ve ever had over lunch though so we can´t complain. We then walked down to the port on the other side of the island where our boat was waiting for us. We then returned to the mainland and killed some time in the town of Puno waiting for our night bus back to Cusco.
We firstly headed to the Uros Islands which are made and re-made from the totora reeds which provide home, sustenance and transportation for their residents. These floating islands are the home of the Uros tribe, one which pre-dates the Incan civilization.The actual islands are amazing and they demonstrated how the islands are made and maintained from the reeds that grow in the Lake. As you walk across it, you can actually feel it moving under your feet - very cool indeed. We didn´t really like the whole situation as it just seemed like an act for the tourists. A woman came and sat next to us and starteed knitting, as soon as I asked about it, she brought out a whole load of textiles that she had created and asked me if I wanted to buy them. Luckily the rest of the tour was not like this...
We then left Uros and headed for a bigger natural island with 3 thousand inhabitants called Amantani. We arrived and were met by our host families. We were taken to our house for the night and introduced to the family. The lady was called Matilda, her husband was Oswaldo, they had three boys. The house was made out of clay with a corrugated iron roof. It was very basic but we loved the experience. The bed was made out of clay with a reed base!
After being shown around we headed to the main plaza on the island where the locals were celebrating New year. We were luck to see it as al 10 communities from around the island were present. Each community dresses up in a different way and they all play music and dance. The funny thing was that they all played their different music and danced at the same time in different areas around the square. It was as if there was a competition to see which group could be the loudest. It was unusualy because all the men tended to sit together and drink whilst the women sat around and gossiped together, it was rare to see a man and woman together.
After watching the festivities we walked up to the highest point of the island at 4100m to see the view. You could actually see Bolivia from the top. The lake is divided into Peru and Bolivia. We wondered back down and had dinner with our family. As a tip for the family, Tommy brought a very fetching hat!
We left early the next morning and headed to out final destination on the lake, the island of Taquile. The journey between the two islands was awful and I felt really sea-sick. We evertually arrived and walked for about an hour to the main plaza. The walk reminded me of the cliffs in Guernsey. We wondered around for a while before having our lunch. The islanders all run different restaurants for the tourists and take it in turns to cook the traditional quinoa soup followed by trout. We paid a fortune for the meal and I had 2 potatoes instead of the trout! It was one of the best views we´ve ever had over lunch though so we can´t complain. We then walked down to the port on the other side of the island where our boat was waiting for us. We then returned to the mainland and killed some time in the town of Puno waiting for our night bus back to Cusco.
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