'Occasional'

 was my adjective of choice regarding the jellyfish in my lovely little cove. It appears the one I saw was simply the first to shore of a swarm, blown in by the wind. I really couldn't have picked a more inaccurate adjective had I tried! Alas the beaches this side of the island are now fundamentally unsuitable for swimming. They're not dangerous jellyfish, in that they aren't so poisonous that you're likely to die from a sting, but they do sting. Well, that is a bit presumptuous of me, but given even the children wouldn't go in the water, instead preferring to snag jellys with sticks from the rocks, I infer they aren't great company up close.

I am not without things to do here though. Aside from a few errands that I have to run, I would also like to go to some other places on the island, and see what there is to see. I've already been to most of them last year, but I had only an hour or two in Porto Azzuro and Capoliveri, both of which I recall being quite striking and beautiful. I could also go to Portoferrario, which is significantly bigger than any of the other towns on the island, where I might be able to get a couple of things I've been wanting to get my hands on, but are not available in Rio Marina (really out-there stuff like coconut oil and cranberry juice). Doing so would mean making use of the uh, extensive and regular bus services Elba has to offer, which could be interesting. I have obtained a bus timetable from the tourist info office in Rio Marina, so it is within the realms of possibility.

Should the jellyfish still be bothersome after that, then I also have my camera, and an island full of beautiful just waiting for me. Potentially that could keep me entertained for quite an extensive period, although it would be in competition with lazing about reading, and half-hearted attempts at extending my non-existent Italian.

And there's still the matter of the bells to figure out, which I revise my opinion on about a dozen times a day.

A slightly more reality-based note, for any of you who still read this to see what I'm doing with my life (other than lazing about on some island or another).

I've left my old job based in London, and have since accepted a temp contract in Germany, starting the middle of July. I've been doing all sorts of odd bits and pieces work-wise, updating my first aid cert, doing a short course, interviews here and there, and my driving licence. I've decided to move towards a free-lance sort of version of my current job, taking temp contract here and there, working with newborns. It's more flexible and, to me, a bit more interesting. It is self-employed, which ought to be an interesting aspect (at least for a while), with all of the obvious upsides as well as the various downsides.

So, when am I coming home? Well, how long is a piece of string really. It is a matter of timing with work and finances now. Permanent plans are still something I don't really deal in, (case in point: just ditched a stable(ish) job for self-employed freelance work, the very definition of unstable employment), but one of the up-sides of this new work is that I have control of my own timetable, so I can book in holidays when they suit. Watch this space.

Italian adventures

I could happily live in Italy. It's just that little bit random and haphazard, nothing quite makes sense, but it's okay, because nobody expects it to, it just is. Everything just is. It's quite wonderful.

I'm back on Elba, the beautiful island I discovered last year, although this time I am on a different part, Rio Marina, on the Eastern side of the island, facing towards the mainland. It's a nice little town, not much more than a village really, although it does have a port where the ferry from Piombino calls several times per day. The houses are set on the hillsides, sloping steeply down towards the port where the shops and restaurants are concentrated. There is just one small supermarket, a handful of panetterias and a few restaurants. I suspect the restaurants, gelaterias and coffee bars are somewhat less numerous in the off season, now it feels like a town just waking up for the summer, like a household of people getting ready for work and school.

I love the sleepy feel of The Rock, it may be a gorgeous island in the Mediterranean, relying largely on tourism, but it doesn't have the glamour of Sardinia, it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's laid back and relaxed, more than a little bit sleepy, and it feels precisely like what it is; a large rock, isolated from the mainland by a few kilometres of beautiful clear blue water. My perception of time here is utterly lost, I haven't the faintest idea what day it is, and only due to the particularly enthusiastic symphony of bells just passed am I aware that it is around midday. The bells are a particular peculiarity which will leave me forever checking my watch for the time! From where we are on the hill, we can hear two bells. There is the simple chiming of the clocktower above the beach, which marks out the quarter, half and three-quarter hours by 1,2 or 3 chimes, and on the hour it strikes out how many hours. The other clock, which I am yet to discover the location of, but I believe to be inland somewhere, is a little more comprehensive. It strikes out the hour in a nice, deep tone, followed by the 1, 2 or 3 strikes for the quarters past the hour in a slightly higher pitch, and provides a definitive notification of midday. There are two complicating factors to this system of telling the time. The first is that I rarely observe when the bells start, and so cannot count the chimes accurately, meaning I often get the hour wrong (although I usually manage to catch up in time to find out how much past the hour it is). The second complication lies not with my ability, but with the bells. The deeper, inland bell is quite accurate, it marks the hour right on the hour, within a few seconds of my watch and phone. The belltower by the beach, however, seems to struggle. I believe that it simply loses time, because today it seems to be almost accurate, while the last few days I had observed a discrepancy between the two clocks of almost five minutes. A final confusing factor, which I have just observed, is that they do not both always mark the quarter hours. The 12.15pm bell was simply two chimes, and just now (12.26pm) there was one solitary chime, but I could not have said for certain which tower it was. I should find out soon, because hopefully the second will chime properly.

Luckily there is no fear of me being late to anything here, for there is nothing to be on time for! However it is quite fascinating observing the bells.

Hmm. Perhaps the inland bell only chimes the hour and half hour, but not the quarter hour. It was perfectly punctual for that time.

Other than observing the bell-ringing & timekeeping, I have also been enjoying the beaches. Rio Marina itself has two small beaches either side of the port, neither of which I could really recommend, although one of them does have a set of fresh-water showers, which I thoroughly approve of. To compensate for the small, tourist-filled shores by the sea in Rio Marina, there is a simply stunning little beach nearby, only ten minutes walk from the beach with showers. It is a lovely little cove, quite enclosed, with steep rocky sides coming down to it. The beach is pebbles, spreading outwards to the sea and becoming larger smooth, round stones. The water is absolutely crystal-clear, with little fishes swimming around, a few sea-urchins to make sure you don't put your feet down, and the very occasional colourful jellyfish to keep you in touch with reality. It is, without a doubt, the nicest beach I have found outside of New Zealand. It doesn't have have waves, that is true, but for a rocky beach that is a good thing. It is just beautiful. Hopefully I can rouse myself to taking pictures one of these days...

Moving on...

Chamonix was my last post... oops! Since then I've been to St Bathelemy, New York and California, and back to London. And I am deep in planning for my next adventure, to Italy again, via Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany (or so the plan goes anyway). In brief here are my thoughts on...

St Barthelemy- The colonial era isn't over after all. The French still own islands in the Caribbean, using the Euro and everything. It was, in essence, a playground for the rich and famous. Private jets, convertibles and yachts abound. Not really my cup of tea, but the wildlife was cool- giant hermit crab (really, the shell it was in was the size of a big coffee mug. That just ain't right for a hermit crab.) and turtles randomly coming to chill out in the garden, listening to the kids read. And no horrible biting, stinging, nasty things, although I wouldn't want to mess with the sea urchins!

New York- New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of... yep, it was pretty much everything it promised to be. Glitz, glamour and sky-scrapers. I quite liked it actually. It was pretty much exactly what I expected, we stayed on the 40th floor of a hotel overlooking Central Park and I got to walk down 5th Avenue, marvelling at how cities have these streets which are household names the world over, and yet are practically identical. 5th Avenue = Oxford St = Champs de Elysee = via Montenapoleone and so on. Still, it was fun to see. Would have liked a night to explore the night life and have some fun.

California- it must have the best climate in the whole world. Cool nights, sunny days, every day. Just lovely. Pity it's so... American. Drive to the shopping mall to buy milk... walk? On what, the road? Sigh. Lovely place, if it were just less American.

And now, to work. But not for much longer. The next few weeks will be my last in London, and they're gonna be busy, so I will be back on here maybe from Italy for all I know!

Chamonix Mont Blanc

Well it must be said, mountains really just don't do it for me. Rumour has it this is one of the most glamorous skiing spots in Europe, but I just want to get back to London. I'm sunburned, my lips are dry, my ears hurt from the altitude and the French/Alpine food makes me ill. It would probably be better if I wasn't vegetarian, wasn't so sensitive to the sun and the air pressure, and was a skier. But I am none of these things and so far I prefer the beauty of the snowy mountains through the glass door while I sit in front of the toasty fire with a hot chocolate (full of milk and cream and other Sam-poisons).

I can be interested in many different things while travelling- if it's got swimming I'm keen, I like food, culture and history are interesting, wildlife, listening to the language, there are lots of things. But, like Spain, this place seems to be full of British holiday makers, so all I hear is English, and everything is oriented for people hurtling down mountains in some way, shape or form, to the exclusion of anything else. And the French SUCK at accommodation. Vegan? Forget it. Vegetarian? No. Please? No. Are you serious? Let me ask the chef.... He refuse. FOR FUCKS SAKE!!! I'm not asking for anything more than a salad for goodness sake. Yes, a salad WITHOUT meat in it. Who on earth would want that? *grumble grumble* stupid French food. *vomit*

I might oblige you with pictures of the stunning natural beauty if I manage to get batteries for my camera tomorrow, but currently I am unable to perform such miracles, and I have little faith in the ability of anybody in this place to manage something as complicated as telling me where I can get more AA batteries. It's quite an ask.

EDIT:
The weather closed in today, so picture opportunities were not so good, and I didn't manage to get any batteries for my camera, so these are just what I managed on my phone before we left.

At least I think that is Mont Blanc, but I'm not really so good on the directions. It's the biggest, nearest looking one, so I assume it is. 

It was peaking through the snow clouds... geddit? *ducks to avoid projectiles*

Time to pack, London tomorrow!

Germany!

Finally. Bear with me, I know I'm in Mauritius now, but I've been meaning to write this post since October, and haven't done it for various reasons (camera issues being high up the list, among other things). Mauritius posts will continue after I'm done with Germany.

I also don't have all the pictures one could want for a holiday, partly due to being a bit lazy about taking pictures. But here I goes!

We started off with a kayaking trip on the Lahn- inspired by that excellent kayaking trip down the Ardeche last summer. It was much calmer, nobody fell out at all, although I must admit to being concerned I would come out straight away- the kayaks were a whole different design, much more manoeuvrable  and also much more sensitive to shifts in your weight! Not only that, but there were chutes for getting around the occasional weir or little drops in the river, and of course our start point started off with one. Naturally it couldn't go easily, I got stuck half way down, lodged sideways against the wall! I had to be rescued, despite my best attempts at fighting my way out; not a great start. But it went much more smoothly after that- plain sailing the whole way! It was by far the easiest kayak trip of my life, the river carried us on at a reasonable enough pace that paddling was basically unnecessary a lot of the time- I sped up considerably when I did paddle :-) but there were no rapids, no rough patches, just floating along quietly. We got stuck in shallow bits once or twice, but that was about it. Oh and at the very end we forgot to tie up one of the kayaks, and my friend had to paddle downstream, find it, and paddle madly back upstream, towing the double kayak behind him! But he made it back, kayak safe, and all was well.

After the kayak trip, we started our castle tour with Schloss Braunfels, which we rather naively decided to walk to from the town we had stayed in. Granted for the fact we walked from one small town to another, it wasn't terribly far. But with big packs, and not being able to work out how to walk directly to the castle, it was a tad miserable. But also exciting. Castles!!! We got their eventually, and before they were open for business! We hid inside an extended tunnel-like archway for a while, dodging the rain, and eventually the tour opened. It turned out that you basically can't take pictures inside the castles- almost all of them had this policy- so no pictures. It was impressive though, large enough, very castle-like, and with a good collection of armour, including a full plate for a horse and knight, very impressive! The combined weight was 120kg or something insane like that- practically the weight of two people, just in armour, never mind the actual person inside it! We had a lovely tour guide too, and although the tour was in German (most of them were) she translated bits into English for us when she got a chance. And I was impressed at both her English, and her representation of stereotypical German beauty! She had the most amazing skin of anybody I have ever seen. She is secretly Snow White, I'm sure of it. On a related note, we were amazed by German teenagers, who appear to be entirely unrelated to teenagers over the rest of the world. Without exception, all the ones we encountered were polite, and had impeccably clear skin. Maybe they're imposters, and actually store their real teenagers somewhere else, in giant summer camps where they can go be spotty obnoxious teenagers by themselves. Oh right, they're called schools when it's not summer...

After Schloss Braunfels we headed for Koblenz, where our first holiday misery awaited us. After walking around the town we found no accommodation, so we wandered in to the tourist information office and asked them to book something for us. There was nothing. A huge wine festival in a small nearby town had resulted in the place being packed to the rafters, and the advised us to go a good distance to be sure to find something. Okay, no problems, we can head down the Mosel (river) now, stay there a day or two, and come back up here when the festival is over. So we got a train to Cochem, a lovely town some 50 miles or so down the Mosel. Now, I must comment on the marvellous system they had at the tourist information office there. By the time we arrived it was gone 5 O'clock, and tourist information were closed. However they had large boards in their windows to display all the accommodation offered through them, a little blurb about each place, and a light to show if they had any rooms. Not only this, but they had telephones you could dial them on, by simply dialling the corresponding number. Brilliant! If only they hadn't all been full... Time and again we called, and got the same answer. The place was full. The wine festival reached this far too it seemed. Finally we found something, it was in the last three possible options remaining, so we were incredibly relieved. It was a long walk, but we made it eventually, much to our relief.

Cochem was a lovely town, with a picturesque castle on one hill, and a giant, glowing cross atop another hill.

After a two nights and a day in lovely Cochem, we moved back up the Mosel, heading for Koblenz, with a castle stop-off along the way. My friend D, who had been in charge of most of the identification of castles to visit assured us that the castle was right next to the train station, but possibly 100 meters directly uphill. At least that's what the map said.

The map lied. We arrived at a small place called Moselkern, where there was a train station, and not much else. We wanted cafe and kuchen (coffee and cake to the un-initiated in this delicious German 'ritual') but it was a no-can-do affair, the place was too small for such establishments. So we followed the signs to for the castle. And we followed them a bit further. And a bit further. And still we walked up the valley floor with no sign of a castle anywhere. It was starting to rain, my pack was heavy, it was miserable. Massive argument ensued, and eventually I stormed off to the castle (I wanted to leave, but had no train ticket -we had a group one-, and the stupid small town was too small to have an ATM to get money from to buy a train ticket with). Turns out I make good speed when I'm royally pissed off, but it was a damn long march. Uphil. In the rain. Boy was I not happy. Fucking castles. 

Suffice to say I have no pictures of Burg Eltz to show anyone, although there might have been postcards to a lucky few, I think. It was quite an impressive place actually, tucked away in the hills, sitting high above a small river. They even had a tour in English, but I was too pissed off to listen (yes, I was sulking.), and they didn't even have decent food options, just chips and hot dogs. Luckily I was still eating meat then, so I didn't go hungry, unlike the vegetarians I was travelling with. Man was I pissed off. I marched all the way back again, but my pace just wasn't the same. Anger levels were clearly shrinking a little, affecting my storming off abilities.

Okay, a picture from Google images. It was a real fairy-tale sort of castle, hidden away like that. Not the best picture, but hey, you get the idea.

After Burg Eltz the day just got better and better. And by that I mean we found out that Koblenz actually actively disliked us. Our second attempt to stay in Koblenz involved arriving, (me using an ATM immediately upon stepping off the train platform, before even leaving the train station. *grumble grumble grumble*), looking at the rain BUCKETING down, and dashing across the square to the tourist information office, to ask if they had anything available. No, they had nothing. Again. Tempers, tempers... we were all cold, wet, hungry and tired. And lugging about big packs on our backs, again. Cafe and Kuchen was located next to the train station, and decisions made to escape Koblenz, this time down the Rhine river. 

Another train ride south and we arrived in St Goar, which turned out to be a delightful little town. What's more, the first bed and breakfast we stumbled upon out of the train station had rooms available. And a sauna. Heaven! We eventually located some dinner (St Goar had some issues with vegetarian options, and met an interesting pair of guys at the table next to us, one of whom was walking the entire length of the Rhine river, from Rotterdam to Switzerland. We had a wonderful cross-table chat, which brought our spirits up a fair bit, along with a hot meal and Weissebeir (white beer, from wheat, nom nom nom). Finally the sauna was used, discussions were had, and the atmosphere relaxed. I wonder how many people make up in saunas, I'm sure it must be a lot. It's hard to be angry when you're so comfortable and warm!

 

Action Sam! traverses another dangerous cliff-face.

I believe it was our first day in St Goar when we decided to go up to Boppard and try our skills at climbing stuff and walking up big hills, and we did what is called Klettersteig, also known as Via Ferrata and Iron Ways, depending where you are. Basically they're a bit like rock climbing, but without the skill. There are things sticking out from a cliff face, you clip yourself into a harness and try to get to the other side without falling and needing your harness. It was excellent. You've already seen a picture on here, but here's another, I was having fun!

St Goar was lovely to walk around, another picturesque town beside a river. While its only castle (Schloss Rheinfels) is now in ruins, you could also see two others across the river, Burg Maus, somewhat downstream, but visible from some places, and Burg Katz, directly across, sitting above St Goarshausen, which I was rather enchanted by. Sadly they are not open to visitors, so we couldn't go, but that didn't stop me taking pictures of them! I loved being able to see two other castles, while standing in a third- can you imagine what it was like when they were all in operation?! Castles!!!

Burg Maus, taken from Schloss Rhinefels.

Also from Schloss Rhinefels, I have Burg Katz behind me.

I see I was a bit too excited about Katz and Maus though, I forgot to mention the trip down the Rhine. We took the train down, to see more castles, including Schonberg, where we used a catapult simulator to destroy Burg Eltz; most satisfying! We walked around the town, looked at castle walls or whatever they were, and then made our way down to the ferry terminal, where we got on a lovely river cruise, to St Goarshousen, passing the Loreley rock on the way. St Goarhausen was a beautiful town, directly across the river from St Goar, where we were staying, and it had the most incredible little pub-restaurant place, I was very taken with it. Unfortunately I have no idea what it was called, but it was a bit like stepping into your grandfathers garden shed where a bunch of university students are throwing a would-be-nice dinner party. It was pretty awesome. 

And finally, before departing the wonderful Rhineland, with all of the wonderful castles, we took a look around Schloss Rhinefels itself, which we had saved for last. I was a bit castled-out by that point, but this one had a few features the others didn't. Not walking up a huge hill in the rain though, unfortunately. Once we had done our obligatory march uphill in the rain, we were treated to an excellent ruined castle. There were many parts you could run around and climb on, and best of all, an old mine you could explore. So naturally two of us, armed with cellphone torches barged on down them, and had an excellent time getting all muddy walking doubled up (or waddling like a penguin, depending on your height) through centuries-old tunnels underground, sometimes with complete silence and in pitch blackness, which was pretty cool. After a fair bit of confused exploration we heard voices, and a few corners later discovered light-a new route out, which was much more exciting than coming out the way we came in! We never did discover what they had the mines for though.

After Schloss Rhinefels, it was time to head North again. This time we were wary of Koblenz, and rewarded for our lack of confidence with some blissful sunshine to sit in for ages while we waited for the next train after our own one was cancelled. Goddamned Koblenz. Never going there again!!!

We had a brief stopover in Cologne (dinner, one night, that was all. I walked past the famous cathedral. It is indeed enormous), followed by a day at Landschaftpark, (Landscape park), which was so goddamn cool that it will get a post all of it's own. Soon I hope. There are certainly enough pictures for more than one post, but I will try to restrain myself. Until then...

Au revoir!

(This is French-land here as well, okay?!) 

When wildlife is not wild enough...

Using the toilet is generally a fairly simple procedure. You sit down, you do your business, get up again, flush the toilet and wash your hands.

This is not always so.

You come in, see nothing amiss, and sit down. Then try not to jump when you see there is a 4-inch lizard with no tail lying on the ground between your feet. Argh, where the hell did that come from?! Okay, never mind it's just a lizard. You watch it look at you suspiciously for several moments before scuttling off to a corner to hide under a pile of dirty laundry, while you get on with using the loo. Stand up to flush it and jump back, aghast upon spying a small fish swimming around in the bowl. Okay, how the hell did that get in there? What sort of waste water system do they have in this place anyway, it's a posh resort for goodness sake. Ewww why is it wriggling around like it's dying, that's really gross... probably because it's in a toilet full of urine... what sort of fish is it anyway, they're usually exciting tropical fish here, it's very grey and dull. And a weird shape, thick and kinda flat at the face, and then thinner and thinner as it goes along, but without any fins sticking out, how weird. Hey it's kinda slowed down it's swimming, it's just kind of twitching now, the poor thing, it must be dying in that water, what will happen if I flush it? Where does this go anyway? And can fish drown? But why is it that weird triangular shape, I've never seen a fish with a head like that, and why is the face bit white, where is it's mouth? It just kind of tails away into nothing.

.

.

.

.

.

Oh.

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.

.

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That ain't no wildlife, if you ask me.

The Indian Ocean!

I have been swimming in the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the English Channel, the Andaman Sea (off Thailand), and now the Indian Ocean. So far the Pacific Ocean around the East Coast of New Zealand is still my favourite. The Caribbean was as flat as a pancake, and the sand sticky somehow, really hard to get off, even in the shower. The Andaman was beautiful, but dirty. The English Channel was passable, but it was my introduction to European beaches, dirty and not exceptionally pleasant, although I have now come to accept that it is basically normal here. Passable, but that is about all. It was also a bit cold as I recall, despite being the middle of summer. I'm sounding pretty fussy right about now, I know that. I was spoiled with lovely beaches only ten minutes from home as a child, where I practically lived in the summer, and I imagine it will be very difficult to surpass it. That won't stop me from evaluating every beach I encounter! The Indian Ocean... Well it's warm, which is nice, but not so warm as to be pointless for cooling off, which was almost true of the Caribbean I felt. Perfect temperature. It's an amazing colour, and there is a coral reef, meaning beautiful tropical fish all around (but again no real waves). I'm in Mauritius, by the way, in case you're wondering which part of that rather large ocean I am evaluating. It also means poisonous ones. So far I've only seen the non-poisonous sea-urchins, however they concerned me enough with their feirce and dangerous looking spikes to read about them, and discovered that I really ought not to go in the water without aqua shoes, in case of sea urchins, star fish, certain fish, some shellfish, and who knows what else! The Indian Ocean thus loses out for being too poisonous, it's not the cleanest (although not terrible, so far as I have seen), and here, it's also very flat, but that's due to the coral reef, which provides the lovely (and poisonous) sea creatures, so it cancels itself out on that front. The Mediterranean around Sardinia was nice, but cold when I was there in June. It was also idyllic off Elba, however the mighty Pacific Ocean gives some power to the breakers crashing on the shores of the East Coast of New Zealand, which the Mediterranean just can't rival.

Thus I proclaim that the beaches of the East Coast of New Zealand still hold as the best beaches in the world. Clean and fresh, the mighty pacific ocean crashing into the shores is as safe as the ocean can be while maintaining all of it's allure.

And why exactly, am I suddenly waxing lyrical about New Zealand beaches? Because this is the first time I've been concerned about stepping into the ocean without shoes on. One shouldn't have to wear shoes in the water! And I still don't. I just don't go near anything that looks like a rock, because it either is a rock, in which case it probably has deadly sea urchins and starfish on it (I know, deadly starfish, I was confused too), or it's a Stone-fish, pretending to be a rock, which is not a better option in any way. Other beaches have not had unpleasant downsides, but nothing terribly dangerous. Apparently being situated between Africa and Australia is a recipe for dangerous aquatic life! Of course the dangers are probably pretty minimal, or it wouldn't be such a popular holiday destination. I probably just wasn't aware of the nasty things in Thailand or the Caribbean!

Mauritius is a nice place, although I haven't seen much of it yet. It seems to have an interesting mix of African and Indian culture, with a dash of French and a pinch of English to spice things up. The food is certainly spicy, but very yummy. Beyond that... well I haven't really been out of the resort. I probably won't get to see any more of it either. I'm loving the wildlife though, the lizards are amazing, so many different types. And the birds are cool too, you'll get some pictures of them for sure, I see them driving from the swimming pool a lot.

Thus ends my first post, but here are some pictures to end with.

Those terribly dangerous fish, eating my leg.

"Are you guys sure about this?"

"Come on, I'll hold your wing big man"

"Yo! What you all waiting for?!"