Happy New Year everybody!
Happy New Year, if it’s not too late!! We have just got back from a wonderful winter holiday in Europe where we visited family and friends in five different countries. We’ve been on more planes in the last two months than in the previous two years.
Walking with Heather in Giggleswick in the sunshine
It all began back in mid-November when we flew to the UK, leaving Distant Drummer safely tied up in Vista Mar marina. Our first port-of-call was a visit to my cousin Heather who lives with her husband Steve and their family in Giggleswick, a little village nestled in the foothills of the Yorkshire Dales. The weather was cold, crisp and sunny and we enjoyed walks around the town and a hike up the limestone crags at Goredale Scar. It was great to see them and a lovely surprise when my cousin Stuart and his wife arrived for a big family dinner. We had a good chat and got upto date on all the family gossip.
Neil and Maya on a small patch of snow in Crans Montana
The next day we headed over to Whitby to stay with some old mates from our Brunei days. On the way we stopped for lunch with Paul and Laura (friends from Jakarta) and met the latest addition to their family. We left a bit late and as we drove across the North York Moors in low cloud with darkness approaching the landscape felt bleak and forbidding, so we were very glad to arrive to a warm welcome from Juliet and Pete. Grey skies and drizzle were a great excuse to stay indoors and enjoy good food and inumerable bottles of wine and catch up on all the news. We did manage to get out for a bit of window shopping in Whitby and a pub crawl around Robin Hoods Bay – fun times with good friends!
Enjoying a walk with Suzie, John and Fi in Dawlish
We made a couple of trips to Devon during our trip to spend time with my parents and it was great to find them in good health and good cheer. Living so far away means we only get back to visit once every couple of years so it was really good to see them and touch base, especially over the Christmas holidays. The miserable weather continued so we enjoyed mornings drinking coffee, big lunches and cozy evenings sitting chatting by the fire. One day when the sun broke through the clouds we drove to Falmouth, a historic town on the River Dart full of narrow streets and old Elizabethan buildings, and treated Mum to pub lunch.
Another great family meal with Josephine, Andre, Mimi and Jeff
Maya, Neil’s daughter, met us in Geneva where we stayed with my sister Josephine and her family. They live in a small village about half an hour from the city, surrounded by muddy fields with Bonmont and the wooded slopes of the Jura mountains near by. We had several beautiful walks in the beach woods with the dogs capering around stirring up the thick layer of rusty brown leaves. Neil, Maya and I drove up to the chalet in Crans-Montana for a few days where we managed to get our heads above the clouds and enjoy breath-taking views of the snow covered Alps. We went to the Christmas market in Montreaux with Mimi, my niece, and we had great fun poking around the stalls, drinking vin chaud and eating gingerbread.
Neil, Francis and Marianne on the beach at Cap Ferret
Francis is another old friend from Brunei days. He is now living in Bordeaux and has recently married a lovely Kiwi lady named Marianne, so we stopped by for a couple of days to congratulate them. We arrived on a rare sunny day so we drove down to Cap Ferret and we had a lovely walk on a beach which seemed to stretch up the coast forever. Rain the next day required indoor persuits so we visited a couple of vinyards and enjoyed a wine tasting at Chateau Ferriere . . . salut and congratulations to Marianne and Francis!
Toby and Cookie in the monastery at Monchique
We always love spending time in Portugal; warm sunshine, fantastic food and hanging out with my bro. The countryside is dry and dusty, rustic villages of terracotta and white wash and peasants in flat caps – love it! Toby took a few days off and showed us around. We went for a walk along the cliffs at Benagil and admired the arches and sea stacks, the pristine white sand and the endless blue ocean. He showed us the Autodromo where he races his motorbikes and another day we went up to Monchique and had a look around the ruined monastery then went out to the west coast and watched the pounding surf pounding on the beach.
We flew to Oslo for new year to see to our friend Vegard. Since leaving Jakarta he has started up a bar and music venue called Café Haerverk and it has been extremely succesful. They have live music most evenings but the evening we went Paul, one of the owners, was spinning vinyl on the turntable. We also met up with Debbie for lunch, shared a bottle of wine and caught up on all her news. On New Years Eve Vegard and Maria invited us to a party and as the clock struck twelve we watched fireworks exploding all over the city.
A sexy snow woman enjoying the New Years Eve fireworks
So our hyperborean adventure has come to an end and we are back on board Distant Drummer. Cesar and the crew at Vista Mar have looked after her very well, under the watchful eyes of Dietmar and Suzanne on S/V Corinthia, thanks to all for that. Now we have to figure out where we’re going next!
Ciao for now
Suzy