The Adventures of Melvyn and Lesley
Having retired we are busy pursuing the things we enjoy
Happy birthday Lesley!
What a beautiful day to meet up with the Girls, Dominic, Ashley and the dynamic duo, Ella and Leyla.
We had a lovely walk around the Peckforton Hills, starting and finishing at the Pheasant Inn, followed by a lovely meal.
No wind today, so we’re off to El Teide. El Teide is the third highest volcanic structure and most voluminous in the world after Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea in Hawaii. At 3718m, it is the highest peak on the Canary Islands and in the whole of Spain.
We took the scenic route up, our poor Fiat 500 hire car struggling up the winding hillsides. There are times when you just have to stop to admire the breathtaking vistas.
We’re making good use of the walkie talkies while we’re out running. We set off on different routes and then after a while we check out where we both are and run towards each other so that we can run back together. It’s not the best place for serious training but it’s lovely conditions to run in and keeps us ticking over.
A very good trip to the Apple Store at the Trafford Centre today. My iMac died, or at least the graphics card did. Apple is going to repair it for free, even though it’s nearly 6 years old.
I was also hoping to order the new iPhone 7 Plus. According to the press, these are unavailable at the moment so I expected to have to order one. I was pleasantly surprised to find out not only did they have some in stock, but also in black, the colour I wanted. So I am now the proud owner is of an iPhone 7 Plus 256GB.
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.
This is both the biggest and best run I do from Vass. It’s around 23km and nearly 800m of climb. Today the weather was cooler compared to the usual weather here and made the running very enjoyable. I stopped in Agios Petros for two frappés and plenty of water before tackling the rest of the run.
A new route today, through the Olive Groves, into Kontárena and over the hill towards Agiofili. Lesley Ran from the other direction and also ran a new and longer route. Plenty of climbing in these runs.
The weather didn’t rain as forecast and was very pleasant for running. I did manage to catch a few spider webs on my way though. Finished off with a nice frappé in town.
The first bike ride into the hills is always a challenge if you’re not a proper cyclist. And we’re not!
I wanted to bring Lesley on this route, I had previously run it and the flowers are amazing at the moment. It was a tough ride as we wanted to see the damage caused to Staffi’s (a local baker and restaurant owner) restaurant by the earthquake, which is an extra bit of uphill work. Lesley loved it!
We decided to have another look at these impressive waterfalls early in the season. Last year it was very busy with lots of people and I wanted to try and take some photos. I think to be a true photographer you have to be very patient, especially if there are unwanted people about.
It was quieter and it was less busy so I was able to get a couple of pictures. It’s also a pleasant stroll when it’s not too hot.
A beautiful sunny start to the day (7:40) when I set off on my first foray into the hills. The plan was to run to Agios Petros, see how I felt and either come back via the deserted village (16km), or, if I felt good, I would head off towards Nikolis (21km).
Unfortunately, someone has stolen the handle from the spring tap at about 5 km, I usually stop there for a drink, but I couldn’t turn the tap on. Plan B was to stop at the cafe in Ag. Petros and have a frappé, a better idea altogether.
The roads out of Ag. Petros were stunning, the flora and fauna (well some cats and a snake), were stunning and I had to keep taking photos.
As I approached the turn off for the deserted village I felt good so decided to push for the turning down to the olive groves just before Nikolis. I’d heard from the local baker, Staffi, that the earthquake over the winter had hit the area around Nikoli, he has a restaurant there and can’t open until the council has repaired the outdoor seating area. On the road back to the olive groves I could see some of the damage done to the road.