Author: Lesley

Journey to Vass 2017

We left Alsager in the VW T6 van on Wednesday 31^st May and drove to Folkestone to go through the tunnel. We had a delayed start this year due to the very sad death of our great friend Dave Rowlands. At least we were able to say goodbye at his funeral before leaving for Vass.

We had a good journey although there was some congestion on the M25 but the weather was OK and we arrived at the Eurotunnel terminal at 13.45. to catch the train at 14.50. We disembarked in Calais at 16.25. French time and Mel drove to the hotel in Mons (Le Monte Cristo) arriving at 17.30. We checked in and booked a table in the restaurant for 19.30. We sat outside initially and ate our asparagus starter but then moved inside for the main course – a huge skewer of beef, which was very nice, but extremely filling. It was a bit expensive and the hotel was nice but a bit dated. The staff were very friendly though and we had a reasonable night’s sleep.

After breakfast we set off at about 9.30. and Mel drove towards Luxembourg. There were a few hold ups but we eventually stopped at the services in Luxembourg to fill up with cheap diesel (0.972 Euros per litre) and to have some lunch. We arrived at the next stop over in Dorlisheim in France at about 16.30. We checked into Le Dormeur Hotel and booked a table again for 19.30. for our evening meal. This was a lovely hotel, clean and modern and we had a large room with a balcony. We had a stroll around the town which was typically French with many old buildings and churches. After a rest we went for dinner and sat outside in the courtyard where we had a delicious meal – Mel had pork and I had prawns and scallops.

On Friday 2^nd June we left Le Dormeur Hotel at 9.20. and headed towards the motorway which was very easy to get to. It was another hot and sunny day with cloudless blue skies. There was quite a long hold up near to Colmar due to an accident but after that we had a good run into Switzerland. We stopped for a coffee and sandwich at the services before the Gottard Tunnel and then carried on to queue to go through the tunnel. It only took about 20 minutes which is not as long as we have waited on previous occasions. We arrived at the Hotel Cruise in Lucino in Italy at about 15.30. The hotel is very close to the motorway and easy to find. Once again we had a rest and then went for dinner at 19.30. We had another good meal, Mel had spaghetti carbonara followed by pork and I had octopus and salmon.

Breakfast was very good – a wide selection of food including hot choices and only 5 Euros each. We left the hotel at 9.40. and immediately got into a long queue at the toll station. After that the journey was good despite the madness of the Italian drivers, especially around Milan. It was a very hot and sunny day but not too long on the road. We arrived at the Globus City Hotel in Forli at 2pm and checked in.

We were able to go to our room and have a rest even though we were a little early. We had another very nice meal in the hotel restaurant and a stroll outside afterwards. Although the location isn’t very picturesque it is near the motorway and easy to get to.

We had a leisurely breakfast which was excellent – a very good choice of food to set us up for the day – before setting off again at about 10.30. Yet again it was a hot and sunny day and we had a straight forward drive to Ancona. After checking in we went to the port to queue for the ferry which was about one hour late arriving. It took a very long time to load up and we eventually sailed out of the port at about 17.30. (one hour late). We found our cabin and then went for a drink. We had a call to go to the reception because the van alarm was going off so Mel went to turn it off. Later we went to the A La Carte restaurant for our evening meal and then retired to our cabin.

We arrived in Igoumenitsa on time at about 9.30. and quickly got onto the familiar road to Preveza and then to Lefkada. We stopped at a service station near to Preveza to fill up with diesel (1.189 Euros per litre), the first time after Luxembourg. The van does about 45 miles per gallon which is very economical. We arrived in Vassiliki at about 12.30. and after greeting everybody at The Imperial Studios we unloaded the van and unpacked in the same apartment which we had last year.

 

 

 

On Saturday 16th September we set off from home in our VW van fully loaded up with windsurf kit and Mel drove to West Kirby. It was a lovely day so we parked up and had a walk round the marine lake. There wasn’t much wind so there were only a few people on the water, mostly beginners having sailing or windsurf lessons. We had a coffee in the town and then sat in the van until it was time to go to the port at Birkenhead about 25 minutes away.

Check in opened at 7.30.pm and embarkation started at 9.00.pm, all very efficient and straightforward. We quickly located our cabin and after a very nice cappuccino we went to the cabin and watched TV in bed. We had a very comfortable night’s sleep, the sea was very calm and the ferry quiet until the 5.30.am announcement over the tannoy telling us we were nearly in Belfast and should be getting ready to vacate the cabin!

We disembarked on time at 6.30.am to a bright, dry, Belfast morning and set off on our journey to Gortahork in County Donegal. We arrived at the Ostan Loch Altan Hotel about 11.00.am after a very interesting and picturesque drive across the north of Ireland.

We went to the beach at Meenlaragh and Mel had his first taste of windsurfing in Atlantic waves (although they weren’t very big or powerful today). The beach is a typical Irish Atlantic coastal beach with a great stretch of sand, mountain backdrop and stunning scenery in every direction.

We had a meal in the hotel in the evening with all the group on Peter Hart’s windsurf clinic and other hangers on! It was good to meet everyone but Lesley was the only partner here for the week so she is going to have to suffer windsurf talk as the main topic of conversation!

 

Monday was the first official day of Peter’s windsurf clinic so after a briefing they all went of to the beach at Meenlaragh. It was a lovely day, sunny and dry so Lesley walked to the beach (about 6km) and then sat outside the van watching the windsurfers. There wasn’t a lot of wind but Mel still enjoyed it, tiring himself out in the process. We went for a drink at the nearby pub and then went back to the hotel where we had our evening meal again.

Tuesday morning’s weather was similar to yesterday but a bit more cloud. The windsurfers all went off to the same beach and Lesley set out to walk there again. The conditions for windsurfing weren’t so good so they drove back to go to another beach, Mel picking me up on the way. It was quite a long way away, near Letterkenny but it was another spectacular beach with gorgeous scenery. The sea was a long way out and Mel did a lot of walking and also got rescued by Peter Hart when he kept getting close to the rocks. There wasn’t a lot of wind so it made it hard work and Mel was tired again.

In the evening we went to Liz’s place, a restaurant in Dunfanaghy about 15km away. Mel drove us in our van and the others went in a minibus which Brendan had organized. We had a fantastic meal with brilliant service and good company. We met a guy who has windsurfed all around the British Isles on his own with no land support – amazing and crazy!

On Wednesday the team were going back to the beach near Letterkenny so Mel got up early for breakfast and left just before 9.00.am. It was a dull, windy and wet morning so Lesley stayed at the hotel hoping for a dry patch to do a run or walk. Mel came back about 10.30.am as they had decided to return to the beach at Meenlaragh.