20 December 2019 You can’t really call it rain when it looks and sounds like water is simply being dumped out of the sky in huge sheets, bouncing and leaping back off the ground and forming small rivers within minutes. This is what we woke up to. Our stuff is damper than ever as the » » »
Posts Tagged ‘weather’
3 September 2017
Wolf and rain
27 August 2017 Ugh. 6:30am is an early start, but worth it for the chance of seeing wild wolves in Europe. We were guided by Wild Watching Spain, who specialise in wolf and bear watching trips. They know where more than one pack of wolves lives, and invariably they live deep in the mountains a » » »
20 January 2017
These mist covered mountains
12 January 2017 It rained in the night. This morning we see a new side of La Gomera’s weather – it’s overcast, with plenty of mist and the occasional drizzle of rain. It’s even cloudy over the south western Valle Gran Rey, which is where we had settled on for today’s hike. We started up » » »
15 May 2016
Allen’s chipmunk chin-up day
22 April 2016 Well, we finally saw one chipmunk. Out at Hetch Hetchy, a much less visited part of Yosemite National Park in the far north where we had a lovely flower-filled hike alongside the reservoir in the sun. We were a little alarmed to find red newts (or maybe salamanders?) on the path wherever » » »
16 March 2015
Hotel breakfast, why?
11th February 2015 Bored with breakfast now. Why, when the guidebook says “Madeirans like to start the day with a short cup of coffee and a pastry,” does our hotel insist on bread, ham, cheese, eggs, fruit, carton juice and a big jug of insipid filter coffee? It’s not them, really. There’s an international standard » » »
16 March 2015
Changeable Madeira
10th February 2015 Really, England’s weather is consistent and predictable. I mean, let’s say you’re driving up a hill. When you get onto the other side of the hill, what will the weather be? The same, right? Drive up a hill on Madeira in golden sunshine with a few distant fluffy white clouds, and you » » »
16 March 2015
Mountains in the Atlantic
8th February 2015 We’ve got a first taste of Madeira’s changeable weather. Hopping in the car after breakfast, it was sunglasses and warmth, better turn the fan on cool ‘cos the car will be baking! Stopping at a viewpoint to gaze into thick, impenetrable mist in the afternoon it was back down to 7C and » » »
16 March 2015
Madeira and the weather is freezing
7th February 2015 We seem to be developing a habit of holidays starting on a bum note. Our flight on Norwegian Air (flying from the UK to Madeira… odd) arrived bang on time, but then the process of picking up a rental car was glacially slow. So it was past 7pm and dark when we » » »
3 August 2014
That’ll do
29th July 2014 Gnuuuur… it’s still stinking hot. Flapping along the pavement under a 30 degree sun with sticky clothes and energy levels so drained by the heat that when you do wander into a shop you just can’t summon up much interest in the contents. No wonder the Swedes all sod off to the » » »
16 December 2013
Sticky business
15th December 2013 La Selva is a research station in the highlands north of San Jose. I was expecting “research station” to be a pseudonym for “jungle lodge” but I was wrong – this is definitely a research station and facilities are more rustic than most jungle lodges we’ve been to. No drinks available in » » »
18 May 2013
Balmy day, Kotor Bay
10th May 2013 I can’t imagine walking the walls of Dubrovnik in the middle of the day in summer. It was hot at 9:30 in the morning in May, and by the time we finished at 10:30 there were a few people-jams starting to form at the narrower points and the steeper stairs. In the » » »
5 November 2012
Rain again, again
1st November 2012 It’s raining again. Possibly France is trying to get rid of us. That’s okay, that just means more wine tasting. I’m not sure I’m entirely the best qualified wine taster right now, having a stinking cold with a blocked nose and a foul taste in the back of my throat that won’t » » »
5 November 2012
Rain again
31st October 2012 Arles is as far south as we go. It’s raining. It was raining first thing in the morning when we wandered the town to admire the Roman amphitheatre and find breakfast. We enjoyed pastries in a colourful patisserie with a cheeky and cheerful patissier. Then we squelched back to the car. We » » »
5 November 2012
Winding and windy
27th October 2012 There’s a gale blowing outside and it’s icy cold on the streets of Aix-en-Provence. It was warmer in the Swiss Alps! Stupid cold front. But at least we’re back in our hotel room and nicely full of a very nose-to-tail dinner. By which I mean that Maureen had a delicious dish of » » »
5 November 2012
Soggy-en-Provence
26th October 2012 No, not the name of a charming little village, rather an adjective to describe the weather. It rained on us all day as we drove a winding route up through the Massif du Vercors (another lump of Alps) and down again into Provence. It rained on us while we looked for a » » »
Tags: weather
7 April 2012
Damp squib
We had one last day in Copenhagen, as our flight wasn’t until almost 8pm. Alas, the clouds had come to play and by lunchtime it was raining. It wasn’t any warmer either, nor was it less windy, so Copenhagen seemed to be doing its best to tell us to go away. Probably because I said » » »
24 July 2011
Final day
24th July 2011 It’s the final whole day of our year-long trip around the world. We must see one last mammal! Or have one last amazing experience! One final superb celebratory meal! But no. It’s raining, it’s raining. So our final day will be flopping around Papallacta and splopping like lazy sealions into the hot » » »
Tags: travelling, weather
9 June 2011
Chiloe moods
Chiloe was a beautiful place, notable for its churches, its sea views, and its wildlife. But above all notable for its weather. Look at how it adds mood to some of the pictures in this gallery. Related Images:
5 June 2011
Chiloe, farewell
4th June 2011 Apparently it rains all the time on Chiloe, but until today we would never have guessed. Even then, the rain held off until after lunch. We took a roundabout route back to the ferry at Cachao so we could visit the church at Tenaun and stop at a recommended place for lunch » » »
5 June 2011
Islands in the fog
3rd June 2011 Yesterday we drove down to Quellon to meet up with a wildlife guide called Jorge Oyarce who might be able to help us find some of the local dolphins and other animals we haven’t seen. Quellon isn’t a very stunning town. Jorge was really helpful, although it turned out that any boat » » »
24 April 2011
Unlucky Hobart
22nd April 2011 You’ll recall our first day in Hobart was spent largely in a crummy backpacker room listening to the rain nailing down the roof above us? Well, it was mostly dry on our return but it was also Good Friday. It seems that in Australia that’s akin to Christmas Day and so absolutely » » »
24 April 2011
www.Tasmania
21st April 2011 Tonight we’re back where we started, at the Giant’s Table near Mount Field NP; the place where we had a cosy plank-floored cabin with a wood-burning stove and no platypus in the garden. At dusk this time we did see a platypus, but our cabin was less cosy, with carpets and no » » »
16 April 2011
Wine and wallaby
13th April 2011 Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain. It finally gave up raining once we’d settled into our accommodation at about five in the evening. Hilariously, a guy at one of » » »
13 April 2011
Hobart is raining
12th April 2011 Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain. Imagine you arrive in a city and get a bus from the airport to your hostel. Through the window opaque with rain and » » »
11 April 2011
Buses and hot chocolate
10th April 2011 I’ve skipped a day. We’re taking it a bit easy in Sydney, not trying to tick off all the sights of the city. To be honest we’re not much like that anyway; I’d rather wander around an interesting neighbourhood and look at the shops and houses than make sure I’ve seen all » » »
8 April 2011
New Zealand nutshell
In reality this is a South Island nutshell, as we’re only going to be stopping three days on the North Island. We spent four enjoyable weeks here. New Zealand is a very civilised country, small enough to be manageable, majoring in natural beauty and outdoor activities but with a strong supporting cast of good food » » »
7 April 2011
Painting pictures with words
5th April 2011 Yesterday was rained off. If I’m not mistaken, the only day in eight months. We stayed indoors and caught up with various chores, did some reading, and when the rain eventually stopped late afternoon we went for a walk just to get out. However, while it was raining on us it was » » »
4 April 2011
Forecast is gloomy
2nd April 2011 Despite being on the far side of the world, there seems to be no country more closely connected to the UK than NZ. People all over the world have asked us “where are you from?” and usually the answer “England” satisfies them. Here if we say England they’ll say “yeah, where?” so » » »
4 April 2011
Elemental
1st April 2011 Today’s kayaking was much more elemental than yesterday’s. The elements in question being mainly rain and wind. No more blue skies, and the rain quickly soaked us through. When we stopped on a beach to eat out lunchtime sandwiches early, the sea which had felt icy yesterday now seemed warm in comparison » » »
27 March 2011
Saved by the wine
New Zealand, Travelling light updates
26th March 2011, Picton Today began rainy and continued rainy, so I’m glad we decided to arrange our trek on the Queen Charlotte Track for a couple of days time to give the weather chance to clear. Who am I kidding. We’ll see. Anyway, we decided to spend today visiting the Saturday market in Nelson » » »
24 March 2011
Following the rain again
23rd March 2011 I see now that we were really very lucky with the Routeburn Trek, having two days of almost totally blue sky for the best days of the walk. Because typically the whole of New Zealand remains covered in a thick woolly blanket of clouds, which occasionally dispense either a glimpse of blue » » »
21 March 2011
The Catlins coast
19th-20th March 2011 The Catlins coast is definitely an area for touring and enjoying the scenery; there are no towns to speak of and no big attractions. But the rolling scenic route through farmland, forest and windswept coast is conveniently dotted with a bunch of good things. So let me take you through our leisurely » » »
18 March 2011
Sealions and lots of weather
18th March 2011 Here we are touring the Catlins coast. It’s a good place for wildlife, and we’ve already seen Hooker’s sealions on the beach at Waipapa Point. You could walk right up to them, but the advice is to give them 30 metres clearance and we felt wise to obey. The big bull looked » » »
18 March 2011
It ain’t Scotland
17th March 2011 Or is it? Today we parted company from my parents (thanks for a lovely holiday and a fantastic trek, see you in four months or so!) and picked up our rental car for a three week tour around South Island. It’s a bit of an old bucket with balding tyres, but it » » »
16 March 2011
Squelch, squelch, squelch
14th March 2011 Routeburn Trek, Day 1 We set out upon our great adventure in the pouring Fiordland rain. Indeed, it rained continuously all day. The only respite from relentless vertical rain was in the afternoon when the wind began to blow and it became relentless oblique rain. The howling of the wind through the » » »
10 March 2011
Typical Fiordland weather
10th March 2011 The guide on our boat tour of Doubtful Sound said that so many times it began to sound like an apology despite his enthusiasm. “You’re seeing the Sound in absolutely typical Fiordland* weather, sunshine is really very unusual here.” He was certainly right, it was thick cloud all day and often raining, » » »
8 March 2011
Frozen in the forest
6th March 2011 Okay, actually written on the morning of the 7th. We’re now staying at Dryandra Forest, another nature reserve on the way back to Perth that also has a good reputation for rare marsupials. The cabin we’ve got is great, with an open fire and an old cooking range, wooden floors and probably » » »
8 March 2011
Bali nutshell
We can’t write an Indonesian nutshell, but having spent four weeks in Bali and visited the north, west, east, south and central parts of the island we can probably do a pretty good nutshell here. Bali really is a holiday paradise, with accommodation and food both available for all budgets and of a good quality. » » »
4 March 2011
Dodging winter
3rd March 2011 Today was a fairly relaxed day. We mooched around Torndirrup NP, rugged coastal scenery on a day of bright sunshine and blustery wind. Too windy for a long walk, we snuck home early and caught up with chores. So today’s blog is an itinerary update. We’re on the third of our four » » »
26 February 2011
Rottnest sizzles in the sun
25th February 2011 Today we visited Rottnest Island. It is described as “Perth’s Island Playground” and if you’ve been following our blog that might leave you wondering why we’d go there. One word: quokka. In fact the island doesn’t really match the image. There’s only one settlement with a couple of small hotels and a » » »
26 February 2011
Of dolphins and cyclones
22nd February 2011 Monkey Mia is that place in Australia where dolphins come right into the shallows to meet humans. It was obviously a very moving experience for travellers twenty years ago, sitting in the crystal-clear shallows feeding fish to their favourite dolphin and petting them for hours. However, the dolphins got too dependent on » » »
22 February 2011
Coffee in the rain
14th February 2011 It started to rain on the morning we left Flores, and we sat in the little cafe on the hill overlooking the airport watching for our plane to land through the drizzle. Around us sat locals playing chess and smoking cigarettes over coffee. In half an hour they would finish their drinks » » »
16 February 2011
Moving onto Flores
10th February 2011 We started horribly early at 6am with a sad breakfast of hard-boiled egg, feeble jam sandwich and water which had been left for us by the kind staff of Okawati because they don’t start breakfast until 7:30. I wouldn’t have bothered if I’d known that 1.5 hours later we’d be ensconced in » » »
17 January 2011
Thailand nutshell
It’s clear why Thailand has such a gravitational pull for travellers of all kinds. The country is full of interest, it’s more modern and accommodating than other Asian nations, and the crucial travelling commodities of food, lodging and transport are all cheap and good quality; you can dwell comfortably in Thailand for £20 per day. » » »
16 January 2011
Man-made disaster
14th January 2011 And since I’m the man of the outfit, we can probably guess whose fault it was. Anyway… So we decided on a crushingly early start to the day, to go back to the Penang NP for more otter watching. That meant up and out by 6:15AM in the dark, collecting breakfast on » » »
31 December 2010
Cambodia nutshell
I like Cambodia, even though things don’t work quite how they’re meant to, the traffic is chaos and the country is clearly very poor. My warm feelings may in part be due to the nice accommodation we stayed in, but getting an enormous plush villa by a pool for the price of a cosy shoebox » » »
18 November 2010
Nepal nutshell
The main reason to visit Nepal is for trekking in the Himalayas – even then, you need to be the right kind of person to enjoy it. Nepal does have friendly people, it is cheap, there are some great cultural sights, and compared to most of Asia it is hassle-free. But the squalor and chaos » » »
14 September 2010
South Africa nutshell
South Africa is a stunning country for wildlife and scenery. As though there weren’t enough guidebooks already, here’s our brief lowdown on the country for travellers. For prices below, the exchange rate was about R10 to £1 when we visited. Accommodation You can get a good, comfortable, spacious room in a B&B or guesthouse for » » »
19 August 2010
Rain, cold and whales
Last night it absolutely tipped down with rain, and this morning it is cold. Our B&B room is large and well furnished, but shares with all other South African accommodation a complete disdain for anything as wussy as heating. “It’s only cold for five or six weeks of the year” as our host pointed out. » » »
8 August 2010
Flowers
I must be a softy, because wading through meadows carpeted in myriad flowers is one of my favourite things so far. It’s hard to do justice to the display in photos, but we took hundreds (but only ten made the gallery!). Namaqua is an arid region, baked to bare sand in the summer but exploding » » »