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Thursday, July 9, 2015
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Adios Fuerteventura, it's sort of been good to know you
This is the end beautiful friends….actually no beautiful or otherwise friends left behind. I did however manage to score a few points with the more senior citizens due to my limited internet skills. A lot of them received tablets or IPhones for Christmas and no clue as to how to use them. I don't own either one of those but I've learned from kids, the computer won't go kaput if you try different buttons which is what I mostly do until I strike "gold" maybe more like copper actually since the internet at Ambar Beach is anything but reliable. Here are a few parting thoughts on the island in case any of you ever want to venture this way.
We walked the beach to Jandia on Wednesday. Jandia is the main shopping hub for many tourists who happily want to spend their euros on perfumes, bags, shoes, cosmetics and the like. The Canary Islands are a tax free zone hence the cheaper prices on those expensive items. The day of the walk was one of the nicest days we've had here although the walk itself was a bit arduous. The beach does have lovely yellow, powdery sand but it's been greatly eroded in many parts and one then has to walk on volcanic rocks of various sizes which litter the beach. Once in a while there's a clearing with sand but mostly you're walking on rocks till you get to the beach at Jandia which is a beautiful stretch of sand with no obstruction to speak of. The weather was so nice I thought I might give dipping my toes in the ocean another try. Unfortunately I wasn't wearing a bathing suit. Decided to go in any way in my black undies and beige tank top, not too many people around plus wouldn't really care if there were. It wasn't much of a swim, the water was quite cold and the darn waves were pretty freaky. At least I can say I went in the ocean twice if only for short yet sweet periods of time. Significant other didn't go at all, too scared of a little cold water. On the parts of the beach where volcanic rocks are found in abundance, people have built semi-circular fortress like structures of varying heights to ensure privacy for some nude sunbathing which is highly prized by Germans, not too many French appear to indulge, they're more modest I suppose or like us they don't like to expose their naked, older bodies.
Regarding the all inclusives, one week here would have been enough. There really isn't much to see because it's so dry and overall not all that pretty. I feel we got to see the prettiest parts. The weather which was meant to be quite reliable did not turn out that way. We had a few good days at first with a few good days in the last week of our stay. The wind is unrelenting, some days it was so strong it made walking actually difficult. This endless wind can be very tiresome indeed. Overall the food was good but it was seldom hot. We found the microwave on the last day of our stay. Deserts were not great except for flan, perfect since I don't believe I put on any weight. There was a young team of animators all French speaking which did its utmost best to provide entertainment throughout. We didn't participate in anything because that's the way we roll, we don't enjoy having a great time especially when heavy socializing with other people is involved. (haha) In any case kudos to them they really try their best. The pools outside were beautiful but I only got one dip in them, frigid is an understatement. The pool inside was cold, water was never warm or heated like the brochure stated but I was able to do my laps most every day. We didn't play ping pong or squash never got around to it, you had to rent the rackets for 20 euros a shot and I never had any money on me. The t.v. was beyond bad, only slightly better reception than the one we had in Cuba. It was quite hilarious you could be watching something or other and all of a sudden the whole screen would freeze with a statement in Spanish saying: "El signal es deb ill" debile in French means moronic, it was moronic indeed. Of course we were able to catch CNN and BBC with their endless droning on, they don't just attack a topic they pummel it into the ground till it's blown to smithereens. I was exhausted merely listening to them. There were hardly any Spanish stations, the whole experience was a bit weird in that it barely felt like we were traveling in a different country where the lingua franca was Spanish. I did my best to try and use my Spanish,didn't make any improvements.
Today it's grey and there's even a little misty rain. We had to check out of our room at noon, took a local bus to Jandia to get some money, now it's just a waiting game. It's going to be a long, long day and night. Adios for now hope you enjoyed my blog.
We walked the beach to Jandia on Wednesday. Jandia is the main shopping hub for many tourists who happily want to spend their euros on perfumes, bags, shoes, cosmetics and the like. The Canary Islands are a tax free zone hence the cheaper prices on those expensive items. The day of the walk was one of the nicest days we've had here although the walk itself was a bit arduous. The beach does have lovely yellow, powdery sand but it's been greatly eroded in many parts and one then has to walk on volcanic rocks of various sizes which litter the beach. Once in a while there's a clearing with sand but mostly you're walking on rocks till you get to the beach at Jandia which is a beautiful stretch of sand with no obstruction to speak of. The weather was so nice I thought I might give dipping my toes in the ocean another try. Unfortunately I wasn't wearing a bathing suit. Decided to go in any way in my black undies and beige tank top, not too many people around plus wouldn't really care if there were. It wasn't much of a swim, the water was quite cold and the darn waves were pretty freaky. At least I can say I went in the ocean twice if only for short yet sweet periods of time. Significant other didn't go at all, too scared of a little cold water. On the parts of the beach where volcanic rocks are found in abundance, people have built semi-circular fortress like structures of varying heights to ensure privacy for some nude sunbathing which is highly prized by Germans, not too many French appear to indulge, they're more modest I suppose or like us they don't like to expose their naked, older bodies.
Regarding the all inclusives, one week here would have been enough. There really isn't much to see because it's so dry and overall not all that pretty. I feel we got to see the prettiest parts. The weather which was meant to be quite reliable did not turn out that way. We had a few good days at first with a few good days in the last week of our stay. The wind is unrelenting, some days it was so strong it made walking actually difficult. This endless wind can be very tiresome indeed. Overall the food was good but it was seldom hot. We found the microwave on the last day of our stay. Deserts were not great except for flan, perfect since I don't believe I put on any weight. There was a young team of animators all French speaking which did its utmost best to provide entertainment throughout. We didn't participate in anything because that's the way we roll, we don't enjoy having a great time especially when heavy socializing with other people is involved. (haha) In any case kudos to them they really try their best. The pools outside were beautiful but I only got one dip in them, frigid is an understatement. The pool inside was cold, water was never warm or heated like the brochure stated but I was able to do my laps most every day. We didn't play ping pong or squash never got around to it, you had to rent the rackets for 20 euros a shot and I never had any money on me. The t.v. was beyond bad, only slightly better reception than the one we had in Cuba. It was quite hilarious you could be watching something or other and all of a sudden the whole screen would freeze with a statement in Spanish saying: "El signal es deb ill" debile in French means moronic, it was moronic indeed. Of course we were able to catch CNN and BBC with their endless droning on, they don't just attack a topic they pummel it into the ground till it's blown to smithereens. I was exhausted merely listening to them. There were hardly any Spanish stations, the whole experience was a bit weird in that it barely felt like we were traveling in a different country where the lingua franca was Spanish. I did my best to try and use my Spanish,didn't make any improvements.
Today it's grey and there's even a little misty rain. We had to check out of our room at noon, took a local bus to Jandia to get some money, now it's just a waiting game. It's going to be a long, long day and night. Adios for now hope you enjoyed my blog.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: By bus around the island of Fuerteventura
My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: By bus around the island of Fuerteventura: On Wednesday we went for our first excursion. It will be our one and only due to the fact that the excursion prices in the euro currency ar...
By bus around the island of Fuerteventura
On Wednesday we went for our first excursion. It will be our one and only due to the fact that the excursion prices in the euro currency are pretty steep for our limited budget. Not sure if any of you reading this have been following the news but it's not great for the Canadian economy. Thanks Mr. Harper for putting all our eggs into the same leaky oil basket. With the price of oil at its lowest since years the Canadian dollar has taken a precipitous nose dive. Last time I checked it was 83 cents to the American dollar which regardless of how well their economy is doing (not great) is always the one investors go to in times of "manufactured crisis". I say manufactured because it's another instance of "the market" let's call it by its real name of grubby, shameless,greedy,manipulative bastards, the market is once again playing with pretend money but making real money. I don't get it but it doesn't matter whether I get it or not what I do get is that I'm being screwed again and so are most of you reading this unless you're part of the 1%.
OOPS I forgot this was a travel/film blog which has now turned into a political blog, sorry I do get carried away. One final note found out today in one of those ticker tapes which endlessly runs on the bottom of CNN and BBC news that all Target stores will close in Canada, yes TARGET. They booted out Zellers and soon Target will be history too. Apparently Canadians don't like Target I know I didn't. Another dismal failure but with an over saturation of retailers already littering the field it's not all that surprising and let's not forget the phenomenal staying and growing power of Wal Mart and Costco those two are here and they're not going anywhere.
So Wednesday boarded the bus at 8:30 with a whole bunch of other Frenchmen eager for the experience. Strangely our guide turned out to be a transplanted Brit who spoke French quite well but with one of those funny accents I myself use when I want to make kids laugh when I'm reading in French. His knowledge of the island lore was superb and he kept us entertained. Apparently French tourists in the Canaries are a relatively recent phenomena. In the past they traveled to Morocco or Tunisia but with "the problems" brewing they've decided to give those two nations a pass and try their weather luck here. This explains the lack of fluent French guides also the fact that most of the information is written first in Spanish then in German followed by English. Sometimes there's a smattering of Italian there too plus we also noticed a fair number of Polish tourists not sure how they're doing with their zwote currency maybe they work in Europe, possibly England where there is a large expat. community of Poles.
Fuerteventura is a sly one, it's a bit shy about revealing it's beauty keeping it well hidden under masses of volcanic rock. It takes a certain light, a special angle of a sun's ray to suddenly reveal its radiance. It never overwhelms but there is beauty to be had in bends around the road ready to seduce the unsuspecting traveler. What is fascinating to me is the fact that all the Canaries emerged as volcanoes from the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. This process can be explained in geological terms but it doesn't take away the magic or the mystery. How bottomless and huge are the world's oceans to have given rise to such wonders!
The road we were on was a very sinuous one and in excellent condition. Due to the dry virtually almost rain free climate there is very little damage to the roads and they are all in great shape. Our first stop was to a very famous cheese "factory" a fairly small, family run affair. They had three types of goat cheese on offer one of which was recently judged best in the world in its category. We bought a sample to bring back to Canada, it's a little spicy, very tasty indeed and the pride of Fuerteventura. Goats are the animals which thrive the best here because they'll eat just about anything. There are sheep too but not as many hence the cheese is mostly all from goats' milk.
Continuing on we stopped at a village where the church is known to have distant Aztec motifs, the guide was not too clear on why that was. We were free to roam around a bit to visit at our own pace although in fairness there wasn't all that much to see. Village was pleasant enough especially since it had spots of green with the planted palms and bougainvillea which normally one finds everywhere in Mexico but is quite a rare sight here requiring, I suppose, too much water. We stopped for lunch at a little roadside restaurant where we were able to do a little more "bonding" with our French companions. They can be a friendly bunch once you get to know them a little. In the afternoon we visited an aloe vera "fabrique". Fuerteventura is quite famous for its aloe vera one of the sturdiest plants around since it can survive without a drop of water for five years, that's phenomenal and hard to believe. We did a little sampling of the various creams and lotions. In its purest form, as a gel, aloe vera is transparent and smells like onion, not an overly attractive characteristic for a cream but that's how it works best. We passed on buying a cream there since the prices were too high for our budget. Lastly we stopped at an old windmill one Don Quijote might have liked and sampled a cookie made out of flour which has been roasted and requires no further baking. All it requires is a little oil, water,pinch of salt and sugar. It's a little pasty and definitely an acquired taste, on an extended camping trip it might come in handy minus the oil.
Fuerteventura is not the most interesting islands culturally, don't believe the other Canary islands are much different in that respect. One comes more for the scenery and the pleasantly mild weather. We learned that only 30% of islanders are involved in the tourism industry which is not as high as I thought with all the resorts around. Nevertheless this percentage exerts a snowball effect on the rest of the island in terms of the jobs it gives rise to, such as doctors, mechanics, teachers, nurses etc…. The employers are loathe to hand out permanent contracts. The most one can hope for is a one year renewed to a second year never more. It sounds typical of most employers nowadays who don't want to have to pay for benefits, sad situation worldwide and growing. The guide did say that usually it's not too hard to find another employer since there are so many tourist outfits here, it still negates the opportunity of full, regular employment. The population of Fuerteventura has now grown to about 110,000 it used to be only 8, 000 not so very long ago and there have been growing pains in terms of infrastructure needs particularly water.
I'll have final thoughts on the island and our trip here before we leave which is this Sunday, sorry for the political rant at the top, had to get it off my chest, now I'm over it. Have fun reading…..or not.
OOPS I forgot this was a travel/film blog which has now turned into a political blog, sorry I do get carried away. One final note found out today in one of those ticker tapes which endlessly runs on the bottom of CNN and BBC news that all Target stores will close in Canada, yes TARGET. They booted out Zellers and soon Target will be history too. Apparently Canadians don't like Target I know I didn't. Another dismal failure but with an over saturation of retailers already littering the field it's not all that surprising and let's not forget the phenomenal staying and growing power of Wal Mart and Costco those two are here and they're not going anywhere.
So Wednesday boarded the bus at 8:30 with a whole bunch of other Frenchmen eager for the experience. Strangely our guide turned out to be a transplanted Brit who spoke French quite well but with one of those funny accents I myself use when I want to make kids laugh when I'm reading in French. His knowledge of the island lore was superb and he kept us entertained. Apparently French tourists in the Canaries are a relatively recent phenomena. In the past they traveled to Morocco or Tunisia but with "the problems" brewing they've decided to give those two nations a pass and try their weather luck here. This explains the lack of fluent French guides also the fact that most of the information is written first in Spanish then in German followed by English. Sometimes there's a smattering of Italian there too plus we also noticed a fair number of Polish tourists not sure how they're doing with their zwote currency maybe they work in Europe, possibly England where there is a large expat. community of Poles.
Fuerteventura is a sly one, it's a bit shy about revealing it's beauty keeping it well hidden under masses of volcanic rock. It takes a certain light, a special angle of a sun's ray to suddenly reveal its radiance. It never overwhelms but there is beauty to be had in bends around the road ready to seduce the unsuspecting traveler. What is fascinating to me is the fact that all the Canaries emerged as volcanoes from the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. This process can be explained in geological terms but it doesn't take away the magic or the mystery. How bottomless and huge are the world's oceans to have given rise to such wonders!
The road we were on was a very sinuous one and in excellent condition. Due to the dry virtually almost rain free climate there is very little damage to the roads and they are all in great shape. Our first stop was to a very famous cheese "factory" a fairly small, family run affair. They had three types of goat cheese on offer one of which was recently judged best in the world in its category. We bought a sample to bring back to Canada, it's a little spicy, very tasty indeed and the pride of Fuerteventura. Goats are the animals which thrive the best here because they'll eat just about anything. There are sheep too but not as many hence the cheese is mostly all from goats' milk.
Continuing on we stopped at a village where the church is known to have distant Aztec motifs, the guide was not too clear on why that was. We were free to roam around a bit to visit at our own pace although in fairness there wasn't all that much to see. Village was pleasant enough especially since it had spots of green with the planted palms and bougainvillea which normally one finds everywhere in Mexico but is quite a rare sight here requiring, I suppose, too much water. We stopped for lunch at a little roadside restaurant where we were able to do a little more "bonding" with our French companions. They can be a friendly bunch once you get to know them a little. In the afternoon we visited an aloe vera "fabrique". Fuerteventura is quite famous for its aloe vera one of the sturdiest plants around since it can survive without a drop of water for five years, that's phenomenal and hard to believe. We did a little sampling of the various creams and lotions. In its purest form, as a gel, aloe vera is transparent and smells like onion, not an overly attractive characteristic for a cream but that's how it works best. We passed on buying a cream there since the prices were too high for our budget. Lastly we stopped at an old windmill one Don Quijote might have liked and sampled a cookie made out of flour which has been roasted and requires no further baking. All it requires is a little oil, water,pinch of salt and sugar. It's a little pasty and definitely an acquired taste, on an extended camping trip it might come in handy minus the oil.
Fuerteventura is not the most interesting islands culturally, don't believe the other Canary islands are much different in that respect. One comes more for the scenery and the pleasantly mild weather. We learned that only 30% of islanders are involved in the tourism industry which is not as high as I thought with all the resorts around. Nevertheless this percentage exerts a snowball effect on the rest of the island in terms of the jobs it gives rise to, such as doctors, mechanics, teachers, nurses etc…. The employers are loathe to hand out permanent contracts. The most one can hope for is a one year renewed to a second year never more. It sounds typical of most employers nowadays who don't want to have to pay for benefits, sad situation worldwide and growing. The guide did say that usually it's not too hard to find another employer since there are so many tourist outfits here, it still negates the opportunity of full, regular employment. The population of Fuerteventura has now grown to about 110,000 it used to be only 8, 000 not so very long ago and there have been growing pains in terms of infrastructure needs particularly water.
I'll have final thoughts on the island and our trip here before we leave which is this Sunday, sorry for the political rant at the top, had to get it off my chest, now I'm over it. Have fun reading…..or not.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: A little spot of cloudy weather-pros and cons of a...
My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: A little spot of cloudy weather-pros and cons of a...: It seldom gets cloudy on these Canary Islands where the canaries have not yet dared to make an appearance. Taking advantage of the lack of ...
Friday, January 9, 2015
A little spot of cloudy weather-pros and cons of all inclusives
It seldom gets cloudy on these Canary Islands where the canaries have not yet dared to make an appearance. Taking advantage of the lack of sun to reflect on our experience here thus far and the pros and cons of all inclusive travel.
This is our second stab at an all inclusive vacation. Our first attempt was also for two weeks in Varadero, Cuba at what was, ostensibly, a 3 star resort but turned out to be more of a no star resort. In Cuba if you want a modicum of service you need to go 4 stars, better yet 5 stars if you can afford it. Those of of you who have read my travel blog on Cuba know that it wasn't an entirely satisfactory experience, both food and accommodation were sub par only the lovely Caribbean waters made up for the hassle.
The Canaries specifically this island called Fuerteventura is our second experience for the same amount of time. It's not as disappointing as Cuba but it's not entirely wonderful either. This time the food is plentiful and somewhat appetizing although I haven't felt super hungry. Meals seem to be expedited fairly fast. I'm mostly appalled at the amount of food wasted by me by everybody else. Try something out if you don't like it leave it to the side a waiter comes and swoops it up, into the garbage it goes. This is repeated many times over for every meal. Last night I went into the dining room once dinner was over to check how much food was left. It was a bit surreal actually, I know they recycle some of it but not all can be recycled and a lot of it ends up being dumped. We are so spoiled in the West, it's the price we have to pay in so-called societies of affluence although right now wherever there is money food is being squandered and wasted not just here.
That's one drawback of all inclusives, hard to know how much food to prepare so there's always too much. The room we're in is perfectly serviceable. It's not total luxury, more pedestrian comfort than anything else. It's got the required bells and whistles but it's not like the rooms they advertise on T.V. for Sandals, Sandals appears to be the ultimate in all exclusive luxuries, I write this tongue in cheek of course never having been there myself. In terms of what a four star offers there is a level of so-called entertainment. The kids are well taken care of but 70% of the tourists are retirees, difficult to get them motivated in terms of physical exercise. Furthermore there's no way anyone would be likely to engage in any sort of water sport, the water in both outdoor pools is so frigid it took my breath away when I dove in. Enough to give you a heart attack therefore there is never anybody in the pool. I do all my swimming in the indoor pool which is only slightly heated. If you want to exercise there is morning pilates, there is also a group class before lunch and exercise machines. Some people are playing "petanque" today and I did find a squash/volleyball court upstairs. Might try some squash today. In the evening there is a meeting place/theater where one can enjoy the drink of the evening usually very light on the booze but heavy on color. Many do come back after dinner to enjoy a spot of disco dancing needless to say hell will freeze over before we indulge, significant other not a huge fan.
I'm starting to think that these all inclusive vacations are what I would term generic. They basically
always offer the same things regardless of what country you're in with some adjustments to quality here and there depending on the star rating. Of course there are always the side excursions to take advantage of with the euro costing us so much a side trip can easily cost us $200.00. We are doing the tour of the island one and that cost 100 euros which is still $150.00 with our lousy petro dollar, should be all right, will give us a good overview of Fuerteventura where frankly there isn't that much to see. The island is super dry filled with either black volcanic pebbles or boulders. Even the yellow sand beach is mixed with black volcanic powder. The island can't deny it's violent origin. This is probably the last all inclusive I will book. Perhaps in the early days of Club Med. when all inclusives were a novelty and really put out for its customers but now they're a dime a dozen. Furthermore I prefer a little difficulty with my traveling something to challenge even if it's only booking a trip on a bus in the language of the country. There is the satisfaction of never having to worry about one's basic needs while on vacation and I don't blame people for wanting, desiring that level of comfort and satisfaction, it's not something I necessarily enjoy.
Regarding the beach it's not that long or wide. Parts of it have been eroded by the constant pounding of the surf and wind. We have seen much nicer beaches over the course of all our travels. Actually it's hard to beat Mexico in terms of beaches and warm waters. Here you really have to force yourself to go in and since it's always windy outside it's never that tempting. The people who do go in on a regular basis are the German tourists fans of nudism. Apparently this area is famous for that. I had the "chance" to be in the water with some of them. They're certainly a hearty bunch. Being so close and personal I was able to observe that most of them male and female appear to shave their nether regions,yes no grey bits allowed and since they're mostly all over 50 I can see that it would be a plus. After all they want to put their best "foot" forward..haha well I found out something new I really had not been aware of that. Speaking of nationalities we still have not "bonded" with any French people although we have made some eye contact and said a few "bonjour" to people we habitually see. I can tell it's going to be a long drawn out process vacation will be over and we won't even have shared a comment ca va. LOL Have to say the French women are always very smartly dressed especially around dinner time, ditto for the men. They do go that extra mile to look attractive with the perfume and the jaunty scarves knotted in just the right French way. Actually feeling sad right now, should not joke about the French after what happened at Charlie Hebdo but freedom of speech cannot and will not be silenced. JE SUIS CHARLIE. Hope you enjoy this latest blog, know that my blogs are not exactly the typical travel blog but hey that's the way I roll.
This is our second stab at an all inclusive vacation. Our first attempt was also for two weeks in Varadero, Cuba at what was, ostensibly, a 3 star resort but turned out to be more of a no star resort. In Cuba if you want a modicum of service you need to go 4 stars, better yet 5 stars if you can afford it. Those of of you who have read my travel blog on Cuba know that it wasn't an entirely satisfactory experience, both food and accommodation were sub par only the lovely Caribbean waters made up for the hassle.
The Canaries specifically this island called Fuerteventura is our second experience for the same amount of time. It's not as disappointing as Cuba but it's not entirely wonderful either. This time the food is plentiful and somewhat appetizing although I haven't felt super hungry. Meals seem to be expedited fairly fast. I'm mostly appalled at the amount of food wasted by me by everybody else. Try something out if you don't like it leave it to the side a waiter comes and swoops it up, into the garbage it goes. This is repeated many times over for every meal. Last night I went into the dining room once dinner was over to check how much food was left. It was a bit surreal actually, I know they recycle some of it but not all can be recycled and a lot of it ends up being dumped. We are so spoiled in the West, it's the price we have to pay in so-called societies of affluence although right now wherever there is money food is being squandered and wasted not just here.
That's one drawback of all inclusives, hard to know how much food to prepare so there's always too much. The room we're in is perfectly serviceable. It's not total luxury, more pedestrian comfort than anything else. It's got the required bells and whistles but it's not like the rooms they advertise on T.V. for Sandals, Sandals appears to be the ultimate in all exclusive luxuries, I write this tongue in cheek of course never having been there myself. In terms of what a four star offers there is a level of so-called entertainment. The kids are well taken care of but 70% of the tourists are retirees, difficult to get them motivated in terms of physical exercise. Furthermore there's no way anyone would be likely to engage in any sort of water sport, the water in both outdoor pools is so frigid it took my breath away when I dove in. Enough to give you a heart attack therefore there is never anybody in the pool. I do all my swimming in the indoor pool which is only slightly heated. If you want to exercise there is morning pilates, there is also a group class before lunch and exercise machines. Some people are playing "petanque" today and I did find a squash/volleyball court upstairs. Might try some squash today. In the evening there is a meeting place/theater where one can enjoy the drink of the evening usually very light on the booze but heavy on color. Many do come back after dinner to enjoy a spot of disco dancing needless to say hell will freeze over before we indulge, significant other not a huge fan.
I'm starting to think that these all inclusive vacations are what I would term generic. They basically
always offer the same things regardless of what country you're in with some adjustments to quality here and there depending on the star rating. Of course there are always the side excursions to take advantage of with the euro costing us so much a side trip can easily cost us $200.00. We are doing the tour of the island one and that cost 100 euros which is still $150.00 with our lousy petro dollar, should be all right, will give us a good overview of Fuerteventura where frankly there isn't that much to see. The island is super dry filled with either black volcanic pebbles or boulders. Even the yellow sand beach is mixed with black volcanic powder. The island can't deny it's violent origin. This is probably the last all inclusive I will book. Perhaps in the early days of Club Med. when all inclusives were a novelty and really put out for its customers but now they're a dime a dozen. Furthermore I prefer a little difficulty with my traveling something to challenge even if it's only booking a trip on a bus in the language of the country. There is the satisfaction of never having to worry about one's basic needs while on vacation and I don't blame people for wanting, desiring that level of comfort and satisfaction, it's not something I necessarily enjoy.
Regarding the beach it's not that long or wide. Parts of it have been eroded by the constant pounding of the surf and wind. We have seen much nicer beaches over the course of all our travels. Actually it's hard to beat Mexico in terms of beaches and warm waters. Here you really have to force yourself to go in and since it's always windy outside it's never that tempting. The people who do go in on a regular basis are the German tourists fans of nudism. Apparently this area is famous for that. I had the "chance" to be in the water with some of them. They're certainly a hearty bunch. Being so close and personal I was able to observe that most of them male and female appear to shave their nether regions,yes no grey bits allowed and since they're mostly all over 50 I can see that it would be a plus. After all they want to put their best "foot" forward..haha well I found out something new I really had not been aware of that. Speaking of nationalities we still have not "bonded" with any French people although we have made some eye contact and said a few "bonjour" to people we habitually see. I can tell it's going to be a long drawn out process vacation will be over and we won't even have shared a comment ca va. LOL Have to say the French women are always very smartly dressed especially around dinner time, ditto for the men. They do go that extra mile to look attractive with the perfume and the jaunty scarves knotted in just the right French way. Actually feeling sad right now, should not joke about the French after what happened at Charlie Hebdo but freedom of speech cannot and will not be silenced. JE SUIS CHARLIE. Hope you enjoy this latest blog, know that my blogs are not exactly the typical travel blog but hey that's the way I roll.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Walking to Moro Jable, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
Set off this morning with the best of intentions to reach what we thought might be the quaint little fishing village of Moro Jable. First of all we were told of local buses which ran on a semi-regular basis but couldn't find the actual bus stop near our hotel. Our resort by the way is called Hotel Ambar Beach, it's quite luxurious by our somewhat modest standards. The lobby is especially glorious. All steel, glass and wood facing the ocean. It's a fairly large structure, modern in its design and concept and easily the nicest thing about this resort. More on that later.
Not having found the bus stop we decided to start walking on the highway. I had read that hitchhiking was OK on the islands, we thought or rather I thought I might try it, winning smile and all. Unfortunately traffic was rather sparse. Most cars were already heavily occupied and the rest were taxis. We trudged on, it got warmer, had to peel off a few layers. Read that the temperature actually climbed to 23 degrees today and there was less wind which made it feel even hotter. We thought that the walk would be about 25 minutes but it took a lot longer. We hit a bit of a snag and had to take what we felt might be a shortcut to the beach but it turned out to be a rather long detour. Along the way I made some casual observations. This island is the oldest of the chain of 7 islands. It came into
existence as a volcano spewed forth over the years by the ocean. Its birth must have been quite violent because the island bares traces of a difficult childhood. It's easy to imagine rivulets of lava spreading across its surface creating gorges and crevasses. The vegetation is basically small brush, a few spindly trees here and there and strangely spots of moss where water must still seep to the surface. There is not much animal life to speak of. A few birds, pigeons and sea gulls with little mammal which resemble tiny squirrels, that's about it. I'm certain there are reptiles around but we didn't see any, they're too wise they hide and stay out of the sun during the day. I would have described the island as semi-arid but must change my initial definition to arid. This is not a land which knows a lot of water. It reminds me of a very ancient relative who has given a lot in its prime but has now reached its zenith and is in steep decline. Without water no new life can spring forward. The island may not survive the coming century. The only answer lies in desalination which is a costly process and not always entirely successful. There are a few plants here, there's no avoiding the building of more in the future. Although tourism is the bread basket of the islands it brings forth its share of problems. They are continuing to build resorts which require a lot of water to function, not to mention the golf courses
which must be a feature of any self-respecting resort. There's no golf course where we are but we saw
\a huge, green (of course) one on our drive to the hotel, there are surely many more. Fortunately they haven't built the ghastly tall hotels which have wrecked the skyline of the Costa Brava in Spain. Here the structures are short in stature, no more than 4 or 5 in height and built on inclines in order to follow the natural slope of the land.
We haven't been able to swim in the ocean yet but I'm not giving up, we're here for a while yet and I do believe there is a tranquil beach with lazy little waves just waiting for us. If it's there we will find it.
We walked for about 6 kms. without reaching the town itself. What we did reach was an outdoor shopping center of sorts which could have been a direct replica of anywhere's ville. I swear there must be a uniformity of crap by-law somewhere which apparently is universally respected and accepted by all. We've seen stuff like that everywhere we've traveled, it's depressing but it's the price of globalization, everything's been flattened out to look the same.
We were too tired to walk any further and settled in to wait for a bus. The people around us were all German speaking. Apparently there are a lot of hotels here which cater to an exclusively German clientele. They do enjoy swimming and sunbathing in the nude. We spotted them on our walk to the beach yesterday. Too bad most of them are old other wise it might have been OK for some innocent ogling. While waiting there I heard a couple speaking French. As luck would have it they were going to Ambar Beach so we ended up sharing a cab much better than waiting forever for the bus and certainly better than walking back.
Regarding the hotel itself for once the pictures promoting it didn't lie. It's exactly the way it was pictured in the brochure which is great. The pools outside are indeed large and beautiful,with lots of lounge chairs around and the view is gorgeous. The indoor pool is far from warm it's not even tepid basically it's quite cool and the sauna and steam room are never open or they're opened but they're not on. It's the same everywhere though mostly people don't swim. They're content to either walk the beach or lounge around either dozing or reading. It's the equivalent of Western nirvana if you come from somewhere less than tropical.
This is our first time traveling with French people and as a group they're not the friendliest bunch. They mostly stick to themselves, don't indulge in getting to know you better conversations. They are not curious as to where you're from, how long you're staying and certainly not what you do in life. If this had been a bunch of Canadians the first thing they would ask is "where are you from?" and the predictable rest would follow. They can't help it they need to situate themselves, Canada is a huge country, I do believe Americans are equally friendly. Europeans live with many borders thus they are much more aloof. It suits us fine my partner not being a big talker himself.
The food is plentiful and quite varied although it's a little industrial in taste. This can't be helped when you're servicing that big a clientele. There must be around 500+ people here. I was surprised at the French being so keen on the deserts which aren't that tasty if truth must be told. On the other hand the lack of cheese might explain their interest in cakes and ice cream. There's lots of jello too which is weird,didn't think the French would like jello but one can never generalize. People are far too complicated for that.
Not sure what we have planned for the coming days. I will update if anything interesting does turn up. Whoever is reading this hope you're enjoying my casual ramblings, adios for now.
Not having found the bus stop we decided to start walking on the highway. I had read that hitchhiking was OK on the islands, we thought or rather I thought I might try it, winning smile and all. Unfortunately traffic was rather sparse. Most cars were already heavily occupied and the rest were taxis. We trudged on, it got warmer, had to peel off a few layers. Read that the temperature actually climbed to 23 degrees today and there was less wind which made it feel even hotter. We thought that the walk would be about 25 minutes but it took a lot longer. We hit a bit of a snag and had to take what we felt might be a shortcut to the beach but it turned out to be a rather long detour. Along the way I made some casual observations. This island is the oldest of the chain of 7 islands. It came into
existence as a volcano spewed forth over the years by the ocean. Its birth must have been quite violent because the island bares traces of a difficult childhood. It's easy to imagine rivulets of lava spreading across its surface creating gorges and crevasses. The vegetation is basically small brush, a few spindly trees here and there and strangely spots of moss where water must still seep to the surface. There is not much animal life to speak of. A few birds, pigeons and sea gulls with little mammal which resemble tiny squirrels, that's about it. I'm certain there are reptiles around but we didn't see any, they're too wise they hide and stay out of the sun during the day. I would have described the island as semi-arid but must change my initial definition to arid. This is not a land which knows a lot of water. It reminds me of a very ancient relative who has given a lot in its prime but has now reached its zenith and is in steep decline. Without water no new life can spring forward. The island may not survive the coming century. The only answer lies in desalination which is a costly process and not always entirely successful. There are a few plants here, there's no avoiding the building of more in the future. Although tourism is the bread basket of the islands it brings forth its share of problems. They are continuing to build resorts which require a lot of water to function, not to mention the golf courses
which must be a feature of any self-respecting resort. There's no golf course where we are but we saw
\a huge, green (of course) one on our drive to the hotel, there are surely many more. Fortunately they haven't built the ghastly tall hotels which have wrecked the skyline of the Costa Brava in Spain. Here the structures are short in stature, no more than 4 or 5 in height and built on inclines in order to follow the natural slope of the land.
We haven't been able to swim in the ocean yet but I'm not giving up, we're here for a while yet and I do believe there is a tranquil beach with lazy little waves just waiting for us. If it's there we will find it.
We walked for about 6 kms. without reaching the town itself. What we did reach was an outdoor shopping center of sorts which could have been a direct replica of anywhere's ville. I swear there must be a uniformity of crap by-law somewhere which apparently is universally respected and accepted by all. We've seen stuff like that everywhere we've traveled, it's depressing but it's the price of globalization, everything's been flattened out to look the same.
We were too tired to walk any further and settled in to wait for a bus. The people around us were all German speaking. Apparently there are a lot of hotels here which cater to an exclusively German clientele. They do enjoy swimming and sunbathing in the nude. We spotted them on our walk to the beach yesterday. Too bad most of them are old other wise it might have been OK for some innocent ogling. While waiting there I heard a couple speaking French. As luck would have it they were going to Ambar Beach so we ended up sharing a cab much better than waiting forever for the bus and certainly better than walking back.
Regarding the hotel itself for once the pictures promoting it didn't lie. It's exactly the way it was pictured in the brochure which is great. The pools outside are indeed large and beautiful,with lots of lounge chairs around and the view is gorgeous. The indoor pool is far from warm it's not even tepid basically it's quite cool and the sauna and steam room are never open or they're opened but they're not on. It's the same everywhere though mostly people don't swim. They're content to either walk the beach or lounge around either dozing or reading. It's the equivalent of Western nirvana if you come from somewhere less than tropical.
This is our first time traveling with French people and as a group they're not the friendliest bunch. They mostly stick to themselves, don't indulge in getting to know you better conversations. They are not curious as to where you're from, how long you're staying and certainly not what you do in life. If this had been a bunch of Canadians the first thing they would ask is "where are you from?" and the predictable rest would follow. They can't help it they need to situate themselves, Canada is a huge country, I do believe Americans are equally friendly. Europeans live with many borders thus they are much more aloof. It suits us fine my partner not being a big talker himself.
The food is plentiful and quite varied although it's a little industrial in taste. This can't be helped when you're servicing that big a clientele. There must be around 500+ people here. I was surprised at the French being so keen on the deserts which aren't that tasty if truth must be told. On the other hand the lack of cheese might explain their interest in cakes and ice cream. There's lots of jello too which is weird,didn't think the French would like jello but one can never generalize. People are far too complicated for that.
Not sure what we have planned for the coming days. I will update if anything interesting does turn up. Whoever is reading this hope you're enjoying my casual ramblings, adios for now.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: Guilvinec, Bretagne, France 2014-201
My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: Guilvinec, Bretagne, France 2014-201: This trip started on November 26th. We spent only one night in Paris close to Gare Montparnasse so as not to have to take a cab from hotel ...
Guilvinec, Bretagne, France 2014-201
This trip started on November 26th. We spent only one night in Paris close to Gare Montparnasse so as not to have to take a cab from hotel to the Gare. The hotel I booked had a weirdly sounding Canadian name: Tim Hotel, no relationship to Tim Horton which in any case has now passed again into the grubby fat hands of Burger King who is now using this recent acquisition as a tactic to claim Canadian ownership and defer paying taxes in the U.S. That's what happens when you're rich and powerful and have a bevy of overpaid lawyers ready to do your illegal bidding. Things that ordinary citizens would have to pay dearly for and would never attempt to do in terms of circumventing the law and not paying income taxes suddenly become fair and reasonable for corporations. OK. enough of the rant which has nothing to do with travel in France. Paris is still vibrantly beautiful as long as you avoid the outlying areas and stick to the main touristy sections. Tim Hotel which is actually a little French chain was surprisingly pleasant with rooms a little bigger than the standard we have gotten used to in Paris. A bonus was the big bathroom, you're not able to pee in the bowl and shower at the same time, not unusual for French hotels. Luckily neither of us are very big we can manoeuvre in fairly small spaces.
We didn't do any real visiting except some walking around which was very pleasant after the plane ride from Montreal. This isn't our first time in Paris and although the magic hasn't warn off it's not as potent as it used to be. The next day we took the TGV to Quimper/Bretagne which is a pleasant four hours much better than by car which would take you 6 hours at least and through numerous paying slices of highway. The highways are privately owned and beautifully maintained but they do cost a pretty penny. Everything has gone up here. With the Canadian dollar's rather precipitous decline it's very costly buying Euros. Three hundred euros will cost me around $438.00 sometimes more depending on the current exchange rate+there are bank fees at both ends. I don't understand why currencies have to be speculated on every second of every day. This kind of reckless speculation only benefits the odd few and is punishing for countries not just for travelers. At this rate I don't think we will be able to afford travel in Europe much longer. We're luckier than most since we get to spend time at our daughter's house otherwise it would be impossible.
Guilvinec where she now lives is known as the biggest "artisanal fishing port" in France. The boats here are rather small in comparison to the huge factory ships which plow the oceans relentlessly and without remorse. The bigger vessels still use nets even if on a smaller scale it's still pretty impressive and scary when they all come in to unload their catch. It's hard not to imagine an endless emptying of the oceans till there's nothing left at all except garbage fish and jelly fish. Her husband fishes for lobster and crabs and his is truly a boat of Lilliputian proportions,you can't get more artisanal than that but he's one of the few. I hope the fishing lasts long enough to provide for him and his family. I'm not too hopeful for the future.
This was our first Christmas in France in forever. I was born in France but the last time I spent a Christmas in Marseille I was much younger. Predictably the dinner was very very long and tasty. We had to take breaks in between. We sat down around 7:00 and we're still edging towards the cheese platter around midnight. We left before dessert (the traditional French buches) because we couldn't eat any more. We did have our own individual buches the next day. There is a list and you order the one you want from the Patissier. The deserts are as exquisite as ever even if there is some grumbling that the taste has gone down. Baking/Cooking are still arts here, the French value their eating time. Kids eat everything there is no complaining or whining about the food. I love that. I know kids in Canada who never eat proper meals with their families and only care for fast food. It's creeping in here too especially in the bigger cities but for now the French are holding fast. It's the last bastion of civility and it won't be easily given up which is a great thing.
Days have been lazy with daily walks into town and some walks to the beach. There are kms. of endless beaches here, too bad the outside temperature does not allow for swimming. I could be tempted on a dare but nobody wants to give me $500.00, that's my minimum dare. LOL It probably won't happen any time soon if ever.
We were going to take a trip to Morocco but the weather has not been good there. Our travel agent suggested the Canary Islands as an alternative. We're delighted, I've been to Morocco and although it would have been cool the Canaries will be totally different not a place we would have ever expected to visit. We usually travel on the cheap, never in all inclusives especially not 4 stars but it was the deal which was available, we decided to splurge. We wanted to give the family a break from our presence and bask in the sun a little as well. Temperatures there should hover around the 19 to 23 mark, perfect.
I will be updating my travel blog from there. Love it when I have something new to report and comment upon on my travel blog even if it's not widely read. I enjoy the writing regardless.
We didn't do any real visiting except some walking around which was very pleasant after the plane ride from Montreal. This isn't our first time in Paris and although the magic hasn't warn off it's not as potent as it used to be. The next day we took the TGV to Quimper/Bretagne which is a pleasant four hours much better than by car which would take you 6 hours at least and through numerous paying slices of highway. The highways are privately owned and beautifully maintained but they do cost a pretty penny. Everything has gone up here. With the Canadian dollar's rather precipitous decline it's very costly buying Euros. Three hundred euros will cost me around $438.00 sometimes more depending on the current exchange rate+there are bank fees at both ends. I don't understand why currencies have to be speculated on every second of every day. This kind of reckless speculation only benefits the odd few and is punishing for countries not just for travelers. At this rate I don't think we will be able to afford travel in Europe much longer. We're luckier than most since we get to spend time at our daughter's house otherwise it would be impossible.
Guilvinec where she now lives is known as the biggest "artisanal fishing port" in France. The boats here are rather small in comparison to the huge factory ships which plow the oceans relentlessly and without remorse. The bigger vessels still use nets even if on a smaller scale it's still pretty impressive and scary when they all come in to unload their catch. It's hard not to imagine an endless emptying of the oceans till there's nothing left at all except garbage fish and jelly fish. Her husband fishes for lobster and crabs and his is truly a boat of Lilliputian proportions,you can't get more artisanal than that but he's one of the few. I hope the fishing lasts long enough to provide for him and his family. I'm not too hopeful for the future.
This was our first Christmas in France in forever. I was born in France but the last time I spent a Christmas in Marseille I was much younger. Predictably the dinner was very very long and tasty. We had to take breaks in between. We sat down around 7:00 and we're still edging towards the cheese platter around midnight. We left before dessert (the traditional French buches) because we couldn't eat any more. We did have our own individual buches the next day. There is a list and you order the one you want from the Patissier. The deserts are as exquisite as ever even if there is some grumbling that the taste has gone down. Baking/Cooking are still arts here, the French value their eating time. Kids eat everything there is no complaining or whining about the food. I love that. I know kids in Canada who never eat proper meals with their families and only care for fast food. It's creeping in here too especially in the bigger cities but for now the French are holding fast. It's the last bastion of civility and it won't be easily given up which is a great thing.
Days have been lazy with daily walks into town and some walks to the beach. There are kms. of endless beaches here, too bad the outside temperature does not allow for swimming. I could be tempted on a dare but nobody wants to give me $500.00, that's my minimum dare. LOL It probably won't happen any time soon if ever.
We were going to take a trip to Morocco but the weather has not been good there. Our travel agent suggested the Canary Islands as an alternative. We're delighted, I've been to Morocco and although it would have been cool the Canaries will be totally different not a place we would have ever expected to visit. We usually travel on the cheap, never in all inclusives especially not 4 stars but it was the deal which was available, we decided to splurge. We wanted to give the family a break from our presence and bask in the sun a little as well. Temperatures there should hover around the 19 to 23 mark, perfect.
I will be updating my travel blog from there. Love it when I have something new to report and comment upon on my travel blog even if it's not widely read. I enjoy the writing regardless.
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