Hiking in Switzerland (and a bit of chocolate too)

After spending a day discovering the cheese of Gruyere, we decided to spend some time hiking around the area, see the mountains and follow a "cheese expedition" through the region. Our time in Gruyere is possibly the first few days where the weather hasn't been sunny for us while we were out and about. It has rained before, but usually when we are driving or at night in our tent. Despite the gray clouds and the occasional spitting of rain, we still enjoyed our time there. (Right - Hovan on the "cheese expedition" next to some primary cheese producers... cows).

The campground we stayed at is a real family affair, and almost all the spots were taken up by RV's that looked they were around for the long haul. We were the only tent in the whole campground, but it was wonderfully clean and had all the amenities we could have wanted.

One night we decided to enjoy some traditional cheese fondue and the camp owner offered a discount if we ate at their restaurant. The fondue was incredible, made with a common regional mixture of Gruyere and Vacherin the end, the family sat down to eat their fondue dinner right next to us, so we felt like we were in someone's home and not their restaurant. Their little daughter (2 yrs old) was playing all around us, and when our dinner was served she snagged a big piece of our fondue bread. She did it so fast that her father never noticed. We suspect she has been doing this for quite some time, but she's so cute, who would complain. (Left - Eating delicious Swiss Fondue).

After leaving Gruyere we decided to head even deeper into the mountains. We have spent the last few nights in Gimmewald in a hostel up in the mountains. We had to take a gondola to get up to the hostel, and it is only a small way up the Schilthorn Mountain. The view from the hostel is amazing and there are huge mountains in every direction. Right across from us is a whole range, including the Eiger and the Jungfrau, which is the highest point in the Alps and the tallest peak in Europe. The weather has been absolutely stunning, nothing but blue skies and the occasional puffy cloud. (Right - the mountain hostel where we stayed).

The hostel is very nice and apparently a common gathering point for English speakers. Almost everyone in the hostel is Canadian or American. For the most part it has been pleasant having some good laughs with fellow North American's, playing card games and swapping stories. It is a low point in the season and even though the Couples Room sleeps 16, there is never more than 8 or 10 people in the room. The other exciting aspect of the hostel is that it has a kitchen we can use. We haven't been able to cook a meal for ourselves in the last month, so we loaded up on all sorts of good groceries and for at least 3 or 4 days we have not had to eat a plain cheese and meat sandwich.

The last 3 days we have been hiking up and around in the mountain ranges, enjoying the incredible scenery and soaking up the local culture. The housing in the area is incredibly quaint and you might think that it was a Hollywood set for a Swiss movie. The housing structures here are so different from everywhere else that we have been in Europe and has a very special charm to it. (Left - one of the many beautiful Swiss Chalets).

Yesterday we took the gondola up to the top of the Schilthorn which peaks out at 10,000 feet. We decided to hike part way down the mountain and then back up to the second highest peak and then take the gondola back down. The first portion of the path from the peak was some of the most treacherous that we have ever seen. There were sheer drop offs on both sides, with jagged rocks, loose scree and weird twists. The only thing to compare was the time that Christine dragged me and our good friends Jeff and Joanna over the more dangerous side of Mt. Arrowsmith, but that lasted maybe 10 minutes, this one went on for about an hour. (Right - View from the top of the Schilthorn).


After hiking for about 3 hours I spotted an ibex at the top of a ridge peak, and so Christine and I did a bit of treacherous off-path hiking to get close. The closer we came the more and more ibex we saw, I counted at least 22 of them. The ibex are the Swiss mountain goat and there are not huge populations of them, so we were pretty excited. After carefully threading our way back to the trail we had a tough decision to make. If we wanted to catch the gondola we had 3 hours to get to the station, and the Swiss signage indicated about 2 and 1/2 hours to reach it (the Swiss are a pretty fit mountain hiking group of people). We could either hike down or go up and take the gondola down. Since we had paid for the gondola ride we decided to push it. (Left - Ibex in the mountains).

After a rather pleasant 45 minutes or so we came to a spot that decided to climb about 1000 feet straight up. After reaching the summit of the hill we had a very very depressing view of another 1000 feet climb up a somewhat treacherous cliff to reach the gondola station. At this point we were committed, exhausted and perhaps a little depressed that we were working against the clock. We managed to race the clock and reach the gondola tower with 30 minutes to spare, so we went at the exact pace the sign said, but in the end it was quite an exhausting 7 hour hike. (Right - the view from the top of the first 1000 foot climb).

The other notable thing about the top of the Schilhorn is that when the gondola was built it was the longest in the world (a record I don't know if it still has). Also at the top was built the very first revolving restaurant. The year after this was built, the site became a key movie set for a James Bond movie. Unfortunately for them, it was the worst Bond movie ever, titled On Her Majesty's Secret Service and starring the one-hit flop George Lazenby (that's what you get when you hire a pretty-boy Australian model to play James Bond). Thinking about the Bond movie gives me fond memories of watching all the movies with my father when I was younger, and now that he has moved to Victoria we can watch them all over again. (Left - the gondola that oes to the top of the Schilthorn).

Today we took it a bit easier and did some more relaxing trekking around the town. We spent the afternoon hiking to a town called Murren so that we could use the pool and hot tub to relax. It has been a pretty relaxing day, resting up for the further adventures of Switzerland. Tomorrow we are off to eastern Switzerland, but we have not yet decided where we will go. We can figure that out when we get to the car and will play the next couple of days fairly loose before making our way to Venice. (Left - Hovan filling the water skin from one of the many free flowing drinking water troughs).

Best wishes to all of you.

Christine and Hovan

The mountain men of Andorra

When last we left off, Christine and Hovan were sitting in the lap of luxury at what could be the most expensive and luxurious point of the vacation. Upon leaving Cardona, we decided to head to Andorra to see what this tiny mountain country was all about. The drive through the mountains of northern Spain into Andorra was absolutely beautiful, passing into the Pyrenees Mountain range.

We were in Andorra all of 5 minutes when we fell in love with this tiny territory. The country pretty much consists of mountain activities and shopping. Due to lower taxes, the price of everything from gas to food to clothing is about 25% cheaper than in Spain or in France. As you can guess a lot of people come into Andorra to purchase items and so the border guards keep a sharp eye out for tobacco and liquor being brought home. (Left - some old stone walls and houses along the trails in Andorra).

After stocking up on all manner of food and other necessary items at bargain prices we decided to see what the real Andorra was all about. The towns/villages appear to be in a long narrow strip through a valley range, and as high up the mountain sides as they dare to build. The whole population seems to live in this long snaking corridor through the one valley. After gathering some information about Andorra, Christine discovered that there are mountain cabins available all over the country that are free to stay, so we made a snap decision to spend some time staying up in the Pyrenees Mountains. Christine has fond memories of her dad talking about a similar set up in the Rockies with the Alpine Club. (Right - the hiking trail in Andorra).

We found a route that did a complete circle of one of the mountain ranges with 2 cabins and thought that we would hike up, spend a night at the first cabin, circle around and stay at the second cabin and then head out. Now in Andorra, when you hike up, you really hike up. Unlike backpacking in Canada, with significant undulations in the territory, these routes go up and up and down and down, there is barely any flat parts and you certainly don’t go down when you are supposed to be going up. (Right - the cabin we slept in in Andorra).

We hiked for several hours the first day and made it to the cabin before dark. Unfortunately we forgot a lot of stuff due to our hasty packing to beat the sunset, but certainly nothing critical. The first cabin was nestled in this tiny valley, with sweeping mountain cliffs on every side. There was a pasture that had a significant number of cows grazing on the grassy slopes. The cabin itself is designed to sleep 8 individuals and there were already 2 German university students having dinner when we arrived. Shortly thereafter, 2 young men from Spain also joined us. Now night time in the Pyrenees in September is apparently quite cold, so we decided to start a fire to warm the cabin. The Spaniards only spoke Spanish and a few words of English. The Germans spoke a reasonable amount of English and no Spanish and Christine could manage a bit of Spanish. It was like a UN summit with hand signals to get the fire started. Two Canadians, two Germans and two Spaniards trudging off into the woods with a dull axe, a poor saw and a desire to share a warm fire built on limited communications. To make matters more challenging, when two of us were carrying a rather large log, dodging cow patties and trying to stay on the trail, a cow decided it wasn’t happy moving from it’s peaceful perch at a point of the trail where we couldn’t go up or down. In the end, after significant teamwork we managed to get a nice fire going and enjoyed a peaceful sleep in the mountains. (Left - Hovan cutting wood with a Spaniard, Right - a cow resting near the cabin we stayed in).

The next morning the weather was beautiful, so we continued our climb to the peak of the trip and down to the next cabin. Along the way, we encountered more herds of cows grazing in mountain fields, a bunch of horses tame enough that we could pet them, an electric fence right along our path and one very friendly shepherd who scrambled around the hills with the ease of a mountain goat. The views were magnificent and the Pyrenees

mountain range is a beautiful site to behold. (Left - hiking through the beautiful Pyrenees in Andorra)

Upon reaching the second cabin, we discovered that we were out hiking during the annual one week hunting season of Andorra and that all of the cabins in all the mountain ranges, except the one we stayed the previous night, were completely full with hunting parties. Where we were planning to spend our second night had space for approximately 10 people, and the group squeezed 19 friends into that one spot. Stopping to have our lunch at the cabin before proceeding on to hike out that day, we met our new friend Antoine (Tony), the camp cook. He was such a kind a friendly man we took an instant liking. This was of course helped along by the fact that he brought us some wine (which Christine fell in love with) and some pate and specialty cheese to eat. He also offered to make us some hot soup, but we didn’t want him to do any work on our behalf. (Right - Hovan making friends with the horses).

After chatting some more, along came his friend Joseph, back from climbing through the mountains on a hunting expedition. Joseph, as it turns out, was just as kind and friendly as Tony, and so we added a second friend on our travels through the Pyrenees. Joseph and Tony (along with the other 17 fellows) have been friends since they were little children and though they are now in their late 60’s, this annual hunting tradition has been going on for more than 30 years. They seem to show no signs of slowing and I would bet any amount of money that Christine and I would collapse from exhaustion if we tried to keep up with Joseph hiking through the mountains. (Left - the hunters Tony (left) and Joseph (right)).

The hunting party seems to be just that, a huge party. The amount of alcohol and pop and food that they brought up was staggering and when I was looking at them cook with a massive propane tank we asked them how they lugged it all in, they said they had a helicopter bring all the materials up. It seems that the hunting trip is a great excuse for a boys week and there is more joking and eating than hunting perhaps, but it seems a wonderful tradition.

Tony and Joseph made a delicious late lunch, of which we partook. Christine particularly enjoyed Joseph’s wonderful pasta dish (since she is a total pasta lover in withdrawal), and we will have to make it when we return home. Tony and Joseph were so kind and thoughtful that we fell in love with Andorra all over again. Tony, the old wizened mountain man told us that it would rain later in the afternoon (and he was right) and that all the cabins were full. While Joseph was busy negotiating a really good price on a very nice hotel in Andorra for us, Tony was trying to track down his daughter, then son in law, then wife to find out where we could get an authentic mountaineering wine skin like his for Christine. The entire conversation took place in French, with a smattering of English here and there.

Before we parted ways, both of them recommended that we visit a water spa in Andorra right next to the hotel they found for us. It is a massive structure with more types of water spa treatments than you can find, and is a perfect way to relax the muscles after a long hike. As we were departing, they showed us a large family of marmots scampering about the hills, and the tunnel systems that they had burrowed. They walked us to the trail head, gave some advice on heading down and away we went. It was a wonderful and very memorable experience, and the 3 hour visit with those two gentlemen will forever leave a wonderful impression of Andorra in our minds. (Right - the marmots of Andorra)

After hiking out we enjoyed the nice hotel they selected and the water spa was absolutely amazing. The next day we trekked back into Spain to a local village suggested by Joseph, and after an hour or two of searching, found an authentic local wine skin for Christine. Then we were off to France for a couple of days in the south before moving on.

We sped off next to a city called Carcasonne, one that we could not miss visiting, since we have the board game. We spent a lovely day camping by a river and wandering through the town. It is a beautiful old castle, one of the great fortifications of Europe and looks exactly like the setting you would see in an old Robin Hood movie. The castle has more than 50 spires, there are two large defensive walls. A castle, church, and a large number of shops and houses sit inside the walls. There are still more than 120 people living inside the castle walls, and the shops are bustling with all sorts of artisans and others hawking tourist crap. It was a splendid day and a place well worth visiting. (Left - the castle of Carcassonne, France)

Our travels next took us to Monaco, to see Monte Carlo and this famous tiny little country. It is the second smallest country in the world, after the Vatican. We arrived late at night, and so we stayed in a town called Menton, camping on top of a mountain. We arrived late in Menton, had a horrible time finding a place to stay, wound our way up a tiny road to the cliff top, found the camp ground with no-one to sign us in and decided we would just pitch our tent and pay in the morning. It turns out that the showers were ice cold, the bathrooms were filthy, and the tent spots were soft and muddy. After finally hunkering down to sleep, we heard a popping noise and pellets kept pelting the tent. I knew right away that it was a kid playing with an airsoft rifle. After getting dressed and dragging myself from the tent I found a bunch of pellets on the ground. I found one teenager in the nearby woods hanging around with no-one else around (everyone was in bed), but couldn’t see any airsoft gun. I let him know that I had seen him, and that if it happened again and he was there, I would assume he was the one doing it. We didn’t experience any more “gunfire” for the rest of the night. Later that evening, Christine and I awoke to the loudest thunder storm I have ever heard. The entire tent was bright from the lightening, but the thunder was absolutely incredible, deafening and shook the ground we slept on. The rain that pelted the tent was a complete deluge and the wind almost ripped the fly off the tent and the pegs with it. In the end, Menton, did not leave a positive impression on us. (Left - the harbour of Monte Carlo, Monaco).

Monaco was a nice visit, where we spent the morning and early afternoon seeing some nice sights. The changing of the palace guard was entertaining, and the city was enjoying an annual ship festival so there were loads of sailboats anchored off-shore. The extensive harbour was of course loaded with massive multi-multi million dollar luxury yachts. The city itself is nice, but expensive. I told Christine that it looks like it’s hey-day was in the 1960’s and 70’s and the whole country is covered with large buildings that are not the most attractive. They are too old to be beautiful and sleek, but too young to carry the grace and beauty of other older cities in Europe. (Left - the changing of the guards in Monaco. Right - the beautiful sailboats in the harbour of Monte Carlo)

Christine and I then zipped through to northern Italy, stayed a night in a small city called Aosta, in the base of the Alps mountain ranges. This morning, we passed into Switzerland through a series of very long tunnels and winding mountain roads. We are now in Gruyere (yes, just like the cheese). We visited a small cheese plant and watched the making of gruyere. It has left us with a hankering for some fondue and gave some pleasant thoughts about Christine’s family tradition of having gruyere infused fondue for Christmas Eve dinner. (Left - the Swiss cheese man checking the consistency of the Gruyere Cheese)

The area is beautiful, and our campsite is surrounded by mountains. We plan on taking a slow journey through Switzerland, seeing the sights and hiking the mountains. A land of hearty food, delicious chocolate and the Alps, what’s not to love? The people here are very polite and pleasant, and we expect this to be an enjoyable stay.

Christine & Hovan

Beaches, Bulls and Castles

Christine and I spent a couple of lovely nights camping at this fantastic campground in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We managed to get a spot on a cliffs edge looking up to the mountains and down to a beautiful river. Our reason for camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains was that it was closely located to Grenada and the Alhambra, a town and site that we spent some time exploring. (Left - the view from our campsite)

The Alhambra was a beautiful site to see. It is a series of 3 castles, a church and some very amazing gardens, with a view over the city. We spent about half a day wandering through the various sites, ending with the main castle that you had to make an appointment at least a day in advance to visit. While waiting in line in the heat we made friends with a Spanish mother and daughter who saw we were very hot and lent us their fan. Neither spoke English, but the mother kept on chatting away with us. The only part I understood was when the daughter clearly told her that we didn't really speak that much Spanish. The mother smiled, and just kept on talking. It was a cute moment. (Right - inside the Alhambra Palace)

The castle was quite stunning and really showed the Moorish roots that were it's foundation. The walls were covered in amazing fresco's and intricate carvings and you can still see the Arabic writings etched into the walls. There is one spot with a long waterway inside the castle that is a fairly famous picture, and I would bet that most of you have seen it at one point or another.

One night in Grenada we went out to dinner and a Flamenco show. It is amazing how fast they can move and the feet work like a frenetic tap dance, but the rest of the body is also very engaged in the dance. The man who was dancing had a very stoic expression on his face. The man was raw power and speed, but the women was amazingly fluid and graceful. The musicians were also quite good, and it made for a very entertaining evening. (Left - the beautiful Flamenco dancer)

We then needed to cover some significant distance across Spain as we start our way to Southern France. We drove for most of a day and randomly chose a little town called Peniscola to camp in for one night. It turns out that Peniscola is like Penticton in the summer, a beach strip with tons of hotels and camping. We only had a short evening before taking off the next day, but it was nice to walk along the beach and see the sights. There were a lot of men selling knock-off goods along the boardwalk and they seemed evening more organized than the guys in New York. The cops were constantly patrolling up and down the beach, so they were lightening quick at packing up their wares and then setting up again as soon as the cop had passed. (Right - the beach and town of Peniscola).

After leaving Peniscola we headed north to a town called Cardona and a portion of Spain that we were very excited about. David, a colleague of Christine's had tipped us off about things called Paradores, which are old buildings converted into hotels (castles, monasteries, other buildings of note). Since I can't afford to buy Christine a castle, the least I could do is get us a place to stay for a few nights. The reason we chose Cardona is that there are only 15 castles among the Paradores and only 2 along our way out of Spain. We looked into both, but only Cardona would give us the under 35 special rate with a free breakfast buffet included, the other one was 3 times the price without it. The other castle looked cooler on-line, so we were a bit disappointed, but would have to make do with our second choice castle :) (Left - the castle we stayed in)

When we arrived we saw this amazing castle sitting way atop a hill with the village and valley well below. The image was quite stunning and way better than what we saw online. The room was very nice, with great beds and awesome showers, made all the better after so much camping. It also happens that we stumbled across the 3 day festival of the village and the region of Spain, so it was pretty much party time around here.

The first night we arrived we were treated to an amazing thunder and lightning show, which are a bit of a rarity in Victoria. It carried on for hours and we enjoyed it from our perch in the castle atop the mountain. The next morning we got up and enjoyed our first hot breakfast in 3 weeks, it was incredibly good. We then ventured off for some trekking through the villages. As the visiting royalty from the castle, we thought it important to see how our crops were doing. (Left - a shepherd herding his sheep in the countryside of Cardona).

Then heading into town we discovered that there was a show happening in the evening, involving bulls, but not a bullfight. We bought our tickets and followed the directions of the lady who spoke no English and our limited Spanish translation wasn't stupendous. We went down where they were of-loading a bull from a truck in a cart. Tons of villagers were around taking pictures, so we did like-wise. Then they hitched a massive clidesdale horse to the cart to pull it to the arena that gets built annually in the town square for this event. Christine and I weren't paying close attention, but all of sudden the villagers started jogging away from the horse and cart, and then they started flat out running, then the police started running, so we figured something was going on and started running too. We heard the horse take off and start thundering down the street (now this is not a very wide street). Christine and I ran about two thirds of the way up the street and then ducked into an alcove as the horse and cart went shipping by us. This is Cardona's annual tradition that is a mild version of running with the bulls and I tell you it had our hearts pumping. (Right - the village people waiting for the horse to pull the bull up the road - the bull is in the grey metal container and it was mad!).

We then took our seats in the arena to watch as a couple of hundred brace young and old men and a couple of women took their place in the arena. Then they let in the bull to start chasing the people around. Most people had ropes to climb the wall when the bull got close, and a few corners had some protective walls. The brave young men and amateur matadors would head to the middle of the arena and taunt the bull to show off their manliness. In total 6 bulls were brought out to take their turn, and each bull got at least one, if not 2 men and threw them around a bit. In the end nobody was seriously injured and the bulls were never hurt, so it was a rather entertaining moment. One of the highlights was when a bull managed to get into one of the corners by squeezing between the gratings designed to be big enough for a man. There were about 10 people in there that came piling out as soon as the bull got through. There was also this old gentleman who was probably once a matador and he showed up all the young bucks. (Right - the bull being released from the cage. Left - the matador and the bull)

In the evening back at our hotel we decided to go for some dessert and tea in the lounge when we were told there was a fireworks show. Heading outside we quickly realized that the show was for the entire valley and it was being done from the highest point, the castle. The fireworks display was one of the best that either of us had ever seen. It was made better by the fact we were right next to where they were shot off. The noise of the rockets was deafening and it was beautiful to see them explode right over our heads and shower down towards us. The safety regulations here are a bit more lax then in Canada. We could feel the whoosh of the air as some of the closer rockets took off and more than once some debris from the exploded casing fell on me. It made the experience just a bit more intense.

All in all our time at the castle was absolutely fantastic. Though it may have been our second choice originally, we were very fortunate and blessed that this is where we ended up staying.

Now sadly we must leave, but we are off to Andorra. If we stayed in this place for too long, our vacation would have to go from 4 months to 1, even with the special discount we got.

Our very best to all of you.

Christine and Hovan

And the beat goes on ...

When we last left of the story of Christine and Hovan traversing across Europe, they were relaxing in sunny Sagres, the tiny town at the bottom of Portugal, in the Algrave region. And so, the adventure picks up where it left off ...

We spent one final day enjoying Sagres, not wanting to leave our little town that we had come quite comfortable with. We spent our last day in the area visiting the southern tip of Portugal. This perch was of course dominated by a castle, however, this had to be the most boring castle in the history of Europe. What a waste of 3 euros. It was so bad, that perhaps the only picture Christine may have to post is of a local weird looking plant, but not much on the lame castle structure. Save your money. (Left - a plant at the castle we visited).

We also had the foresight to visit a lighthouse with the claim to fame of being the most southwestern point of continental Europe. The lighthouse was nothing special, but the sweeping bluffs and sheer cliffs were spectacular. It was a clear look out into open sea with little but water between us and the east coast of North America. Truly a beautiful spot.

Above - Hovan looking out over the Atlantic Ocean on the tip of Portugal

After sunning ourselves on the beach and contenting ourselves as a couple of lazy bums for the rest of the day, we decided to pack up and head into civilzation once more. Truth be told, we enjoy the smaller towns more, but the cities usually have some ¨must see sights¨. Having enjoyed a glorious week in Portugal, we returned to Spain, hoping to enjoy a bit more of the Iberian peninsula. Christine never gave up her siestas, so she was well positioned to return. (Right - one of the many beautiful beaches of Sangres)

Our first stop in Spain was Seville (wondering if this where the term civilians came from. Any thoughts out there?) . Now here is a good point to stop and explain how Christine and I travel, and how it may seem that we move from city to city rather quickly. One, we very flexible about our itinerary and can change it in a moment, and two, neither of us are huge museum fans. (Except the Royal BC Museum - which Christine loves to visit). We enjoy seeing some exhibits and the special museums like the Louvre, but we don´t spend much of our visit inside of museums, which really reduces the time necessary to visit a city.

And now, back to Seville. We entered the city with high hopes of a couple nights seeing the sights and relaxing. Christine navigated into the city and I drove. Now let me tell you, driving in Seville is the worst driving experience either of us had ever encoutered. Not having a street map made things infinitely worse. After looping in endless directions, we finally entered the old city, what a horrible mistake. Not only was there no space to maneuver, but the roads were a confusing mixture of weaves and bobs. The situation wasn´t helped by the thousands upon thousands of people that kept moving willy-nilly across the street. (Left - a sample of the streets we drove down in Seville).

After finding parking and getting out of the car we were treated to 42+ degree heat. As we were trying to locate a place to stay we stumbled across the huge cathedral. Quite the sight and we were finally starting to enjoy a bit of Seville when I felt a moderately heave smack to the top of my head, my left shoulder and the ground. Looking down I saw a huge pile of pigeon **** lying on the ground, with significant residue on my shoulder and head. At this point Seville was quickly going down the tubes and is definitely not going to make the highlight reel of our trip. (Right - the cathedral of Seville)

After finding a hostel with air conditioning, a shower, and a city map, we were finally ready to explore. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon and evening wandering through the quaint inner city streets, seeing the positive side to Seville. After a typically late dinner of tapas, we called it a night. The next morning we got up before it was too hot and enjoyed visiting the local cathedral (we got to see the inside for free since there was a service going on, which saved us $20). We spent a good bit of time exploring the local palace as well. This was a huge palace, and it is easy to appreciate that it is definitely a place of relaxation. Formerly a muslim enclave and then later built up further by the Spanish royal family it was quite pretty. The difference between this and French castles was indicative in a number of ways, not least of which is that there were a ridiculous number of open air patios all over the structure, since this region gets very little rain. We also paid to visit the royal upper chambers, which were neat, but made all the better that at one point we could look into one of the rooms currently being used by the King and Queen of Spain (though we didn´t see the royal couple themselves). Apparently the royal family still actively uses most of the upstairs of the palace. (Left - our tapa dinner. Right - Hovan in the palace gardens)

We decided to leave Seville earlier than anticipated, it being too hot, and us having a few bad experiences. Christine decided to drive after my stressful few hours of Seville, and so we set off for Gibraltar. Some of you may not know this, but Gibraltar is basically this huge rock that is only a few kilometres square at the base of Spain guarding the mouth to the Meditteranean. It is also a British colony and has been controlled by the UK for more than 300 years. They have there very own currency called the Gibraltar Pound which does not trade on par with the Euro or the British Pound and is only useful in that tiny area. (Left - Gibraltar rock)

Gibraltar was quite the sight to see and a must visit for anyone in the area. One important note, is that the driving here is equally as crazy as Seville and poor Christine had her turn at some stressful conditions. The roads are windy, poorly marked, on a steep hill with everything being one way. The only thing that was a positive was the fact that there was little pedestrian traffic, otherwise, this is very dangerous place to drive.

At the very top of the rock are some amazing and unique sites, plus the price is quite reasonable at 8 Gibraltar Pound (roughly 9.5 euros). We enjoyed seeing a 100 tonne gun that was established to protect the colony, but sadly for all the training and installation it was never fired other than in practice - perhaps having a 100 tonne cannon is enough of a deterent. There is also a cave at the top of the mountain that has some spectacular stalagmites and stalactites, and the bottom of which has not yet been discovered, though they have uncovered an underground lake in it. The pictures that Christine have do not do it justice, and this would be a spelunchers dream discovery. Apparently many British officers have explored quite deep, but 2 have never returned. (Right - The stalagtites and stalagmites in the caves of Gibraltar).

There is also a spot on the top of the rock that is home to some indigenous primates that are all wild. This is apparently the only indigenous and wild group of primates in Europe. They go everywhere and crawl over everything. Christine has some fantastic photos and the babies are all wrinkly and cute. It was a pleasant experience to see some natural wildlife running around, especially since they are small primates. We also treated ourselves to a visit to some seige tunnels built by the British that go very deep into the rock. They were originally dug to get some cannons to the other side of the rock to attack some Spanish ships during a huge siege that lasted years. (Left - two hairy apes. Right - baby ape).

On your way out or in to Gibraltar you cross a massive airstrip and traffic has to be stopped if there is a plane landing. The strip is actually also built well out into the ocean. Christine has a fabulous shot that shows the airstrip and the border. Gibraltar is definitely a strange place, but a unique one and was well worth the visit.

Above - Looking over the airstrip of Gibraltar. Anything furthur than the airstrip is Spanish territory.

Last night we spent sleeping in some small town on the way to Grenada. A dingy outdoor Hostel turned out to be a lovely indoor space to sleep. Arriving late we enjoyed a good dinner around town. We then proceeded to sneak through the neighbourhoods to try and find some open and unsuspecting wi-fi. We felt a bit like criminals driving all over town and parking here or there, but we just needed 10 minutes on the net.

We are now in Grenada enjoying the sights and tomorrow we have our tickets to see the Alhambra, a sight that was recommended to us by Christines dad as a must visit. We are going to try and find somewhere to camp in the Sierra Nevada mountains around the area and come in for the Alhambra tour before heading north.

I know I have already had my rant about driving in Europe, but I will close this blog with one more thought. The Europeans are fantastic highway drivers. No one pays attention to the speed limit and everyone drives in the right lane unless passing really fast on the left. In the city though, they are absolutley nuts. They weave and pack, jam into any space available, and park anywhere that looks like only a moderate chance of blocking traffic and getting hit. Thankfully our license plate notes us as Germans, so I think they have been cutting us some slack and it is only in Germany where people might really get mad at our slow city driving.

Stay tuned for the further adventures of: Tales of Interest (to us anyway).

Hovan & Christine

Chilling in Portugal

Hey all,

So Christine and I have spent the last several days in Portugal, but we have been out of touch with technology for a short bit and yet we somehow managed to survive.

Initially we spent 2 days in Viana do Costelo, a port city in northern Portugal that has a good measure of charm. The outer crust of the city is rather crusty and unattractive, but the inner core is typical European with small boulevards and winding streets, lots of quaint shops and more coffee shops and restaurants per capita than Victoria. We ate one meal at a restaurant and was surprised when our waitress spoke to us in flawless English. It turns out she was from Ontario and of Portuguese descent taking advantage of their education system, but she was happy to chat with some Canadians. Apparently, most of the tourists that she sees here in Portugal from Canada are from the west coast, so we must have a bit of a restless tendency in BC. (Right - the streets of Viana do Costelo)

We found a really nice campground right on the ocean in Viana do Costello, with a pool and other amenities. We spent the next 2 days enjoying the beach, going for nice walks, playing in the surf and relaxing from our cross country race across Spain. The pace in Portugal is much the same as Spain, except they don't take the siesta as seriously so they pace themselves through out the day. We spent some time hiking to the top of a hill to see a church (for some reason castles and churches are always at the top of a steep hill. I can understand the castles need for defense, but why put the churches so high up - maybe it really separates out the devout from the casual attendee :) Anyway, the church was quite pretty, but the view was amazing. Once we reached the top, there was a flurry of activity taking place. Someone was being given CPR by paramedics, while all the tourists at the site looked on. Now CPR has I believe an approximate 3% of success, so we didn't hold out much hope for the gentleman, but in the end it appeared that they revived him. We tried not to join the crowd of gawkers, but we were leaving when he was loaded into the ambulance, it looked like he was moving his one arm, and the paramedics put the ambulance sirens on, which usually is only done when they have a live victim - so I guess that 3% really does matter. While we were heading up the church steps we saw another woman sitting on them, obviously injured and being attended by a paramedic. Once we were inside the church we also saw another lady fall on the stairs. Suffice it to say that we were not taking any chances and were very careful navigating our way through the church and down the 1 kilometer of stairs back down to the base of the hill. (Right - the beach near the campground we camped at. Left - the church on the top of the hill).

We did visit an old hospital ship called the Gil Eannes, which also doubles as a youth hostel. We decided to stay at the campground instead of on the ship because the novelty of the ship didn't outweigh the musty smell, but we did enjoy the tour. There were definitely some sections of the ship that looked like they were used more for torture than hospital work, but lets hope they put the tools to good use. The rest of our time was spent relaxing and enjoying a true vacation on the beach. (Right - the torture chamber... I mean the operation room on the Gil Eannes).

Now at this point I believe I must speak to our diet. Fruits and vegetables have been surprisingly difficult to find, and when we do find it, we tend to buy in large quantities due to our excitement and then they don't hold up so well in the 34 degree heat of our car while we are out gallivanting around. We have eaten a number of tasty pastries (Scott as per your suggestion) and have had a fair number of the custard tarts that Portugal is famous for. We haven't been eating out too often and have made most of our meals from the back of the car. I have become an expert baguette maker, and make at least one every day for Christine and myself, and oftentimes 2 if we are not feeling like eating out. It's funny, but we will often camp to avoid the expense of a hostel or hotel, but whenever we do eat out, it's hard to find cheap restaurants over here, even in Portugal which is supposed to be one of the cheapest countries in Europe. At times we get a little sick of the baguettes, but as we move further east in Europe our car trunk restaurant will start to offer different fare. (Left - the custards tarts that Portugal is famous for. Very delicious!).

Back to our continued adventures in Portugal. After leaving Viana, we headed south down to Lison (Lisboa) to see the sights of the capital city. Our intent was to stay at a town called Sintra, which is supposed to have some amazing sights and trek in from there to the Capital. We arrived in Sintra in the middle of the afternoon to find the town overrun with tourists, and I do mean overrun. Up until now we have largely avoided huge tourists traps, but fell like suckers into this one. Now it's no wonder why there are so many tourists, the place has the most ideallic, mountainside aura, with winding tiny streets and everything is done up just right to draw in the tourists. It's also aided by 5 different castles within a 5 minute drive from the centre. The town is a paradise for all those people with knee high socks, huge cameras and an inability to walk faster than a turtle (stopping every 3 seconds to use said camera). Christine and I knew that we were not going to be staying in Sintra, but we decided to enjoy the afternoon there. (Left - the streets of Sintra)

After visiting the tourist information booth, we decided to hike a couple of kilometres up to a Moorish castle that was built over varying stages, but some parts were built in the BC era. The castle was definitely the oldest in the region, but the walls were in amazing condition. From the top of the castle we could see all four of the other castles in the area, and we think that we chose the coolest one to visit. Because of the walk up and no ability to drive, there were also limited numbers of tourists. For those of you reading our earlier blogs, I can tell you that this was definitely a castle and not a chateau, no creature comforts, but very easy to defend. It did fall to the first Portuguese king, but I wonder how many young men lost their lives at that castle wall before it was taken. (Right - the Moorish castle in Sintra)

We spent the rest of the evening wandering around the town, had a delightful dinner at an Indian/Italian fusion restaurant. The combination seemed weird, but I had a fantastic Indian dish and Christine an Italian one, so it seems they do both types of food well. After that we went off to find the Lisbon municipal campground in the dark. Now if navigating is difficult, navigating in the dark is worse. The campground was located in the Lisbon municipal park, which we chose because it was cheap and very close to the heart of the city we wanted to visit. The municipal campground turned out to be the dirtiest and smelliest of all our campgrounds to date, and thus ended our streak of pleasant accommodations, but hey we are traveling and where is the adventure without a little adversity. (Left - Christine with her half bottle of Portugese Rose during dinner).

We started our day in Lisbon off with some custard tarts at the shop purported to be the first or one of the first to sell them. The bakery was founded in 1843 and later at one monument there was a history of big world events since the 1500's (not Portuguese mind you, but world events), and there occupying space in 1843 was the opening of this bakery we ate at - now that's important world history. By the way, the custard tart there is better than any other we have had in this country by a long stretch.

We spent the day in Lisbon seeing the sights. We visited this gorgeous monastary called Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, and it was impressive. The architecture was quite stunning. We toured through the centre of traditional Lisbon and then took a trek up another hill to the Castelo de Sao Jorge, the castle of Lisbon that overlooked the town. It was a bit of an adventure finding the castle, as we wandered through back side streets, criss-crossing and trying to find the entrance. It took us a while to get there through a combination of reasons, one was that we wanted to veer away from all the other tourists heading there, so we took an alternate and ultimately much longer more circuitous route, and secondly, we made decisions that tended to choose routes with shade in the 30+ degree heat. Eventually we found the castle and enjoyed our time wandering through while listening to the minstrel music of a local Lisboan (is that right?) We spent the rest of the time in Lisbon visiting a few other sites of note, including a tower in the harbour built for it's defense. It is a cool tower that means business, with a serious number of cannons and look out points. (Left - Christine in front of the Torre de Belem, the harbour defense tower. Right - a view over Lisbon from the castelo de Sao Jorge).

We decided in our travels through the city to park the car and use the transit systems, as a day of moving about the city would be more efficient that way. It turns out as we were parking in a very obvious spot a man pointed the spot out for me. After I had parked he looked like he wanted some money, but I found the spot easily on my own. Then he motioned he would look out for our car. Normally I would ignore this, but Christine had been warned by a co-worker that when he ignored the same request in Spain, his car was not in the same pristine condition as when he left it. Knowing this we figured a euro or two was worth piece of mind for all day monitoring :) Ah, extortion at it's best/worst.

Christine and I also continued an experience that has been repeating itself through out our marriage. Everywhere we travel, people seem to offer me drugs and completely ignore Christine in the process. In Cuba on our honeymoon, I was always the target of their offers. On our trip to New York I was frequently propositioned and no one gave Christine the time of day. In Lisbon I was offered drugs twice in the span of ten minutes, the one gentleman actually showing me that he had the goods. Christine attributes the offers to my scruffy looks. Now admittedly my beard is starting to come in nicely, and may make me look a little disreputable in my casual clothes, however, that does not explain the offers when I had only my goatee on previous vacations or the number of times I have been offered drugs at home in Victoria, even when I am dressed up, wearing a tie, carrying a briefcase and walking between meetings. I can't tell what exactly it is about me that makes them think I am interested in drugs, but I am open to any of your thoughts on the matter. Perhaps we can hear your suggestions as to why poor Christine never gets offered. (Right - the street in Lisbon where Hovan got offered drugs twice in about 10 minutes)

There is only one other notable thing about our time in Lisbon, having discovered a McDonalds and not wanting another baguette for dinner, we caved and enjoyed a Big Mac meal for dinner. It was a bit of an adventure to find the McDonalds, as we walked past it twice, without noticing it. They didn't have the usual garish colours, so it blended into the local scenery and we seemed blind to it's calling. But a bit of determination, some big billboard interpretation and voila, a meal just like at home. I must tell you that the Big Mac did taste pretty good. (Left - Hovan enjoying his Big Mac in MacDonalds)

Packing up early this morning we decided to head away from the big city and go south to the Mediterranean. For the most part, to date, we have avoided heavy tourist spots, but Sintra and Lisbon were rife with them. We decided on the smallest town at the south of Portugal we could find, Sagres, which is in the very bottom corner of the country. I believe it is the most southwestern part of Europe. The town has less than 2000 people and is a surfers dream (though neither of us are surfers). The temperature is 32+ degrees, the water is gorgeous and the beaches long with big rocky bluffs. Even in the off season there are tons of surfers and I know that some of you would absolutely love it here. (Left - The beach near the town of Sagres)

We have bunkered down for a few days of sun and surf before we head off to Seville and back to Spain. We have worked through Portugal from top to bottom at a pleasant pace, with a good mix of sights and beaches, driving and relaxing, and the adventure carries on.

Our best to you all,

Hovan and Christine.