Debbie

15/09/202401/02/2025

Camino de Santiago – Part 3

This entry is part 5 of 14 in the series 2024 Europe

12 – 15 September 2024

Day 5 – Pontevedra to Caldas dos Reis – 26 kms

This was a short day but busier on the trail with lots of walkers. With rocks, tree roots and the walkers to negotiate it was testing but beautiful riding.

Even the smallest of villages have a church

Our first surprise was a snack stop in the forest at a waterfall.

Next stop was at a small hot spring pool in the town of Caldas dos Reis.

Then it was time for a special tapas lunch in town with our group. Lots of local food, lots of wine and lots of laughs.

Then after a short ride out of town (mostly uphill of course), we arrived at our very special accomodation Torre do Rio. A spectacular house perched on a hill between 2 streams, one stream fed directly into the pool!

Day 6 – Caldas dos Reis to Santiago de Compostela – 46 kms

Our final day saw us riding through vineyards, forests and some roads. Lots of walkers all glad to be nearing their final destination, the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. We had 2 stops, coffee and then a stop at the Santiago church in Padron. Under the altar there is a large stone that legend says the boat carrying the body of St James was tied to on its journey to Santiago de Compostela.

We were getting close now so stopped to add a stone to the last marker.

Not long after we finished in the square in front of the cathedral at 1400.

A few photos and then we were off to get proof of our adventure, our certificates. At the start of our ride we were given passports that are stamped at places along the way. These are checked before the certificate is issued.

After eventually finding our hotel, we showered and went for a guided walk and then to the Pilgrims Museum which we enjoyed.

Friends Mary Beth and Rich had invited us to join them at the Pilgrims Mass that evening before dinner. We were very privileged to share their reserved front row seats.

The mass is in Latin so hard to follow however the highlight was the Botafumeiro.

The Botafumeiro (“censer”) is one of the most famous and popular symbols of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It hangs by means of a system of pulleys from the main dome of the Cathedral and swings toward the side naves where we were seated. It takes eight men to move it, who are known as “tiraboleiros”.

It weighs 53 kg and measures 1.50 metres; it hangs from a height of 20 metres and can reach speeds of over 65 km/hr.

Our view of the Botafumeiro

We finished our day with an excellent final dinner with our group.

Sergio surprised us with a video he had compiled over the week. Warning: it is about 30 minutes long!

We can certainly recommend Top Bike Tours Portugal if you would like to ride the Camino or one of their other tours!

https://topbiketoursportugal.com/

Our final day in Santiago de Compostela was spent doing laundry so we are ready for the next adventure and watching the mighty Lions come back from 44 points down to win their semi-final against GWS!

11/09/202401/02/2025

Camino de Santiago – Part 2

This entry is part 4 of 14 in the series 2024 Europe

10, 11 September 2024

Day 3 – Caminha to Baiona – 39 kms

We started the day by riding a short distance to a very small boat that was going to carry us across the Minho river into Spain. 6 riders and 6 bikes per trip. Did I mention it was a small boat?

Half way across we came to a stop. Some concern from the skipper and all caught on camera by Peter, former US Coastguard skipper.

After moving our watches forward an hour, we started cycling to Baiona. More cycling along the coast some on bikeways, some on the road.

We eventually arrived in Baiona where there is a replica of the Pinta, one of the 3 ships in Christopher Columbus‘s fleet.

The Pinta returned to Baiona in 1493 making the port the first to hear of the discovery of America. We spent the night in a castle – a first for us.

Traditional singers preparing for a function in our hotel

Day 4 – Baiona to Pontevedra – 65 kms

Today we were warned that we would do some climbing, but first we rode beside the bay on a mix of bikeways and quiet roads.

We had a morning tea stop in Vigo an old city with a large car free square.

After leaving Vigo we had our first big climb and then followed the path for some beautiful views over Vigo Bay for 9 kms.

Oysters farmed using the floating platforms in the bay

There was a steep downhill, then we rode into Redondela for lunch.

Espigueiros are common in N Portugal and Spain and were used to store grains etc.

After lunch we had some nice riding through forests which kept us cool. There was one last climb of 3 kms towards the end of the day before we arrived at our equally impressive accomodation in the Baron’s Casa.

We finished the day with a walk around Pontevedra with a local guide.

Ravochol the parrot lived at the pharmacy for 22 years until 1913.

09/09/202401/02/2025

Camino de Santiago – Part 1

This entry is part 3 of 14 in the series 2024 Europe

8, 9 September 2024

Day 1 – Porto to Esposende – 64 kms

Our group loaded our bags on the bus and walked to Top Bike Tours Portugal’s shop to pick up our Scott e-bikes and start our tour. Our guide Sergio led us to the start of the Camino at the Porto Cathedral.

We were led out of town by guide Sergio who negotiated the weekend crowds well. We were met at various points along the way by Telmo, who was driving the van today. He made sure we had plenty of water, fruit and snacks.

Guides Telmo and Sergio (owner of the company)

First stop was at the beach were the locals were enjoying the beautiful weather.

Telmo said this was a popular beach to learn to surf.

We continued to ride along the foreshore. Lots of cobblestones and boardwalks didn’t make for the most comfortable ride but this was made up by the beautiful scenery.

We had to overcome one obstacle when the boardwalk suddenly disappeared.

We stopped to visit a replica of a Portuguese Caravel

and then had a short ride through the bush where Geoff got a flat tyre. It gave us all a chance to admire the remains of the Roman road next to the “newer” cobbles

Tube expertly changed by Sergio and we were soon on our way to finish at the seaside town of Esposende after 64 kms.

Dinner was at a traditional Portuguese seafood restaurant.

Day 2 – Esposende to Caminha – 51kms

Today started with another flat tyre – to Geoff again!

Another beautiful day. Early sea fog burnt off to blue skies again.

There was more riding through bush which our bottoms appreciated.

Lunch was at the lovely old town to Viana do Castelo. It was decorated for an upcoming festival and we enjoyed tasty pastries from a cafe. Food in Portugal is incredibly cheap.

Headwind after lunch made me glad for the e-bike.

Not sure who is going to swim between those flags!

Our accommodation tonight was in Caminha which is situated on the Minho River, The river forms the northern border of Portugal with Spain.

05/09/202401/02/2025

Europe 2024

This entry is part 1 of 14 in the series 2024 Europe

Lisbon, Portugal

Tuesday, 3 September – Thursday, 5 September

We left Brisbane International Airport at 0155 after having dinner with Ben who kindly dropped us at the airport. We were both tired by the time we boarded but waited until after the meal service to get some sleep (about 4 hours for me).

We landed in Dubai at 0930 local time (1530 in Brisbane). 5 hour wait for our connecting flight to Lisbon where we arrived at 2130. That was 32 hours after we arrived at the airport.

On Wednesday we bought a Lisbon Card and then caught the bus to the Monastery of Jeronomis. Long queues so we decided to move onto the Maritime Museum. Wonderful museum with lots of the history of the golden years of Portuguese exploring. Vasco de Gama is the most famous of these explorers having been the first to discover the sea route to India.

Next stop was the Belem Tower on the Tagus River. Built to shore up the defences of Lisbon, it later served as a prison and now a popular tourist attraction – so popular we couldn’t climb the tower.

Back to the Monastery of Jeronimos to admire the cloisters and the church.

Day 2 began with 2 metro rides to the Lisbon Oceanarium (advertised as best in the world!)

After this it was back to town to visit the Lisbon Story display. An interesting presentation on the 1755 earthquake that destroyed most of Lisbon.

Next was a walk around the old parts of town using a Rick Steves Audio tour.

Funicular not working so a steep walk up the hill instead

Our last morning in Lisbon we caught the famous 28 Tram through the narrow streets. Close calls aplenty and stopped at one point by a car parked on the track.

Next was to catch the metro to the train station for a 3 hour trip to Porto!

11/08/202417/08/2024

New Zealand Road Trip – Queenstown to Christchurch

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series 2024 New Zealand

Tuesday, 23 January to Saturday, 27 January 2024

Tuesday was a day to sleep in, do some washing and generally recover from the last 5 days. We did catch a bus to the Frankton shops but it was an early night as we were picking up our hire car in the morning.

On our previous trip to NZ in 2018, we travelled the interior route to and from Christchurch. This time we decided to head south to Invercargill and then follow the coast to Christchurch with a stop in Dunedin to visit friends. The first few hours followed the road to Te Anau before we continued south towards Invercargill, a total of 200kms. We stopped for morning tea at Lumsden where they have preserved an old train and carriages and the old station.

Next stop was Invercargill where we arrived early afternoon and checked into our motel. We then headed down to Bluff, the southernmost town in mainland NZ. We visited the Maritime Museum before getting the obligatory photo at Stirling Point (and yes it was cold and windy).

From Bluff we made our way back to Invercargill to see the “World’s Fastest Indian” – made famous in the movie starring Anthony Hopkins. It is on display in a local hardware shop and we got there about 15 minutes before closing. A staff member kindly gave us a guided tour and told us some of the stories for the next half hour. If you haven’t seen the movie, we highly recommend it.

On Thursday, we drove the 250km to Dunedin via the beautiful Catlins beaches. Lots of sunshine but I had no desire to go for a swim.

After checking into our hotel, we were picked up by our friends Carmel and Bill and given a tour of Dunedin and their beautiful house perched on the Hill overlooking St Clair beach. Dinner after on the esplanade with beautiful views of the beach capped off a great day.

On Friday, we did the return trip to Pukerangi on the Taieri Gorge train starting at the stunning Dunedin Train Station.

This popular trip goes through hand-made tunnels and across the Wingatui Viaduct, the tallest wrought iron structure in Australasia. After crossing the viaduct we could get off the train while it reversed and crossed again so we could get photos.

On Saturday, we covered the final 360km to Christchurch with lunch at Oamaru on the way. We dropped the car off and had an early night so we were ready for our next adventure – the Otago Rail Trail.

01/04/202417/08/2024

New Zealand – Fiordland Part 2 – Milford Sound

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series 2024 New Zealand

Saturday, 20 January to Monday, 22 January 2024

On Saturday it was onto the bus again on a rainy day for the trip to Milford Sound. On the way we stopped for a couple of short walks as well as hiking a short section of the Routebourn Track. It was wet – very wet!

After lunch we drove through the Homer Tunnel and onto Milford Sound to board our vessel, the Milford Mariner. One of the reasons we chose this trip was the chance to spend the night on Milford Sound. The ship was larger than we expected with room for 60 passengers in private ensuited cabins.

Photos from our guide, Rob, as we returned to dock

After boarding we had a quick circuit of the inner sound to admire the many temporary waterfalls. There are only 2 permanent waterfalls in Milford Sound (Stirling Falls and Bowen Falls). As it had been raining all day there were literally hundreds of temporary falls to be seen.

After picking up our mooring for the night we had the option to kayak or go for a ride in the tender. As it was still raining and we were all finally clean and dry we declined the offer. After a very tasty buffet dinner, we enjoyed a slideshow about Milford Sound.

The next morning, we motored out to the mouth of the fiord. The winds were light and the swell slight – you couldn’t ask for a better morning. The Captain told me that 2 weeks before our trip, boats had experienced over 100 knots in Milford Sound.

We were lucky to see both seals and dolphins on our cruise.

After disembarking, we boarded our bus and headed back towards Te Anau. It was a beautiful day so we stopped after going through the Homer Tunnel to allow some of our group to cycle down the busy, steep and windy road. The rest of us met them at the bottom to cycle 15kms along the quiet Hollyford Road to our lunch spot near Humboldt Falls. After the rain of the last few days this was a magical ride in sunshine beside the creek.

A short walk up to Humboldt Falls was followed by a beautiful lunch beside the creek.

Before dinner in Te Anau, we went to the small local cinema to see the movie Ata Whenua – Shadowland. Mostly filmed using local helicopters, it gave a unique view of the area we had just visited.

On Monday, we were driven to near Mavora Lake to ride some more of the Around the Mountains Trail.

The first 20km were tough going with a slight gradient and a strong headwind. There was no relief on the wide open plain and morning tea couldn’t come fast enough. At this point I was regretting not having an e-bike!

After morning tea we had to ford a couple of creeks (shoes off for me, some cycled through) before we reached the stunning Von valley and an exhilarating downhill.

Lunch in the valley with spectacular views was followed by a great cycle down to Lake Wakatipu and then on to Walter Peak Station. We had cycled 54 km today and enjoyed a celebratory drink with our fellow cyclists before heading off to the sheep shearing exhibition.

Our tour ended by loading our bikes onto the steamship TSS Earnshaw for our return across the lake to Queenstown. We packed a lot into 5 days and were lucky to spend them with a diverse and friendly group of fellow cyclists and 2 knowledgeable guides. Special thanks to Rob for some of the photos in this post.

27/03/202417/08/2024

New Zealand – Fiordland Part 1

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series 2024 New Zealand

Wednesday, 17 January to Friday, 19 January, 2024

We flew into Queenstown on Wednesday afternoon and checked in to Blue Peaks Lodge. By the time we had settled in and went for a walk around town it was 6pm as you add 3 hours going over to NZ. Town was busy with lots of tourists and bike shops.

The next morning we met our guides, Rob and Sam from Adventure South, and the 8 others in our group (6 Americans, 1 other Australian and one Kiwi). We boarded the bus and headed towards Glenorchy to start our adventure with some kayaking on Lake Wakatipu. It was a beautiful calm morning that wasn’t spoiled by the cloud giving way to some light rain.

Our guide explaining how glaciers formed the lake

We paddled across to Pigeon Island, a predator free island on the lake that has given birds a safe haven away from rats and stoats (a small ferret like animal).

Next it was off to Arrowtown for our first cycling of the trip. After getting our bikes sorted, we headed off on the busy Queenstown Trails.

Very pretty tracks but unfortunately, I had a fall just before the end. Luckily nothing was broken but I did have quite a few cuts and grazes to remind me to be more careful for the rest of the trip.

On Friday it was onto the bus to drive to Kingston to cycle the start of the Around the Mountains cycle trail.

With a strong tailwind the 30 km to Athol was pretty easy and I was happy to make it without difficulty. Lunch was at the Five Rivers Station Cafe where the bikes were loaded and we drove to Rainbow Reach for a hike on the lower section of the Kepler Track.

Light rain did not stop us all enjoying the hike to the Control Gates, a distance of about 10 kms through rainforest beside the Waiau River. This is one of NZ’s great walks.

The bus met us at the end of the hike just as the rain increased so we were glad to arrive at our accommodation in Te Anau.

27/02/202327/02/2023

Hobart and the Australian Wooden Boat Festival

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series 2023 Tasmania

Thursday, 9 February to Monday, 13 February, 2023

After completing the Three Capes walk we had 6 days in Hobart to rest and enjoy the Wooden Boat Festival. This is our third time attending the festival and we have loved it every time. The festival starts with the parade of sail on Friday.

11 tall ships were joined by hundreds of wooden boats and watched by thousands of people who lined the Derwent River. It was a spectacular start to the festival.

We went on each of the 4 days as it is hard to see it all, especially as we ran into so many sailing friends also in town.

Some vessels would be more at home in an art gallery.

Radio controlled yachts (Warren’s new hobby) and other model yachts were also on display. You had to row behind the Four Foot Two boats (right photo) to adjust the sails or course.

Traditional skills – lathe and making rope

There were talks, demonstrations and entertainers roaming the precinct.

A cruise ship towering over the wooden boats

We did do a 9km walk one day up the Rivulet path to the Cascade Brewery. Very pretty and needed to get ready for our next part of the trip – hiking in the Bay of Fires.

11/02/202327/02/2023

Three Capes Walk

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series 2023 Tasmania

Sunday 5 February to Wednesday 8 February 2023

We flew into Tasmania on Sunday afternoon and caught a bus to the Grand Chancellor hotel on the Hobart waterfront. At 7.30 on Monday morning, the Life’s an Adventure guides picked us up to take us to the Tasman Peninsular for our first day’s walking.

We were surprised to find there were only 4 in the guided group and 6 in the self guided group. The other couple were late arriving and eventually our guide Abbey got in contact with them to discover they both had Covid and would not be able to come. We now had a private guide for the next 3 days!

We have been through Dunalley canal 4 times in Phase2

We had morning tea at the Tessellated Pavement near Eaglehawk Neck before driving to the start of the trail to Cape Raoul.

Nearly 5 and a half hours to complete the 16.5km track with over 600m elevation gain.

The walk started in eucalypt forest with cutting grass

Day 2 and we decided to vary the normal itinerary and see a few more of the local highlights. The morning saw us hike to Warerfall Bluff with a fantastic view to the south.

Warren and I then walked back to Tasman Arch to meet Abbey for morning tea.

We then headed south past Port Arthur to walk the Crescent Bay trail. There was a strong, cold SW wind that made for difficult walking with little protection from the coastal heath.

Remarkable Cave (supposed to look like Tassie)

We got Abbey to drop us at Port Arthur and we had a 2km warm down back to our accomodation at Stewart Bay Lodge. Another 16.5km today.

Our final day started with the tough hike out to Cape Hauy. 4.5 hours, nearly 10km, 500m elevation and thousands of steps. This is a busy track with some seriously steep stairs.

Next up was a helicopter flight over the final of the 3 capes – Cape Pillar and Tasman Island.

Perfect weather for the first flight for both of us luckily, although it didn’t stop the sweaty palms. It certainly is a spectacular coastline and a great way to finish the 3 capes.

The helicopter took off from McHenry distillery so we had a quick tour and gin tasting before the bus ride back to Hobart.

29/06/201901/11/2019

Zagreb and Budapest

This entry is part 14 of 14 in the series 2019 Europe

Sunday, 16 June 2019 to Thursday, 20 June 2019

We were driven back to Zagreb on Sunday morning in a minibus organised by the boat tour company. After taking our bags to our hotel, I was dismayed to find my camera missing. After calling Willy who checked the boat without success, we tracked it down to the minibus. Luckily the driver hadn’t returned to Krk and Warren collected it from him. While waiting for our room, we visited the Museum of War with its photo exhibition of the Croatian Homeland War from 1991 to 1995. Very moving and confronting images.

After wandering through a market in the park, we had a short visit to the Art Museum where we saw the Baska Tablet which dates from about 1100.

Originally in a church on the island of Krk, it is the first mention of the Croatian name in the Croatian language. From that time, Croatia was ruled by Hungary, Venice, Ottoman Empire, Habsburg Empire, Yugoslavia (after WWI) and Soviets (after WW2) before gaining independence in 1991. Any wonder many Croatians we spoke to wanted to move on from the turmoil of the past.

After a night in Zagreb it was back on the bus for the trip to Budapest. We were booked into Callas House on Andrassy Boulevard next to the Opera House. This street is similar to the Champs Elysees in Paris and terminates at the impressive Heroes Square.

No crowds at Heroes Square in the early morning

On Tuesday we visited the Hungarian National Museum which is housed in an impressive Neoclassical building.

We then walked across town to the Great Market Hall, which sells locally grown fruit and veg, meats and souvenirs.

Our last stop for the day was a tour of the Opera House, which excluded the main theatre which was undergoing extensive renovations. What we saw was opulent and our tour finished with a short concert on the main staircase.

On Wednesday it was time to leave Europe and face the long flight back to Brisbane. It had been another great trip where we managed to pack a lot into our 6 weeks away.