Tag: nature
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Patara: an ancient port & windy beach
Thursday February 05, 2026 Türkiye is a country overflowing in archeological sites. The area where we have been staying is home to the former Lycean capital city Patara and a modern day beach of the same name. It’s a popular destination in the hot months and not so much in the winter. It was a…
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From Sky to Sea
Tuesday February 03, 2026 Tuesday dawned bright blue, in so many shades of blue. From the sky, to the sea, to the swimming pool, the brilliant sunshine carved out more shades of blue than one could count. We have a resident ginger kitty cat, very pregnant, very hungry, very demanding. I call her Missy and…
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Portugal: Loving it all, including the rain
Tuesday January 13, 2026 And then there was rain! That’s the only way to begin because that’s how today began. After a lovely three days of sunshine and warm weather. Saturday, as you know dear readers, is market day in Olhão and this was one I didn’t want to miss. It’s a great place to…
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Life’s a beach in Faro
Thursday January 8, 2026 Today the sun was out in full force and the sky was a shade of blue that I think only exists in the Algarve. Regardless, after spending the morning exercising and bike riding, I decided to spend the afternoon at Faro beach – one of my favourite places to be. It…
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Scaling the heights, finding transformation
Thursday October 30, 2025 Thursday morning dawned bright and beautiful. It was a great beginning for our bus trip to Ancasmarca, an archeological site on a mountain of 5,198 metres. The name is of Quechua origin, meaning blue village, or village of eagles. The part we were visiting was referred to as the blue balcony.…
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Up the Rio Ucayali
Wednesday October 22, 2025 It was a hot and sunny morning as we left the hotel for the port of Pucallpa to board a river boat for a trip to the Shippibo village of Limongema. It was a bit of a shock and surprise to find the river had shrunk in size. In March, the…
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Barranco do Velho
Friday January 24 2025 The best laid plans…Woke up early on Friday with visions of a group hike in Barranco do Velho, about 18 km from Estoi, in my head. Here, at the Quinta, the overnight rain had eased off and the cloud cover was beginning to break. A good sign! After much discussion amongst…
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The clouds break
Thursday January 23 2025 There was a break in the cloud cover on Thursday morning and the rain stopped…temporarily. So, i took a quick stroll around town and visited some favourite spots. The most important was O Victor, a local lunchtime restaurant highly popular with local folks. The food is simply presented, plentiful portions and…
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PORTUGAL: Algarve winter
Welcome back to Estoi: Sunday January 19, 2025 It’s more than half-past January and I have been in Estoi a total of 24 hours. It’s wonderful to be here again and renew acquaintances and begin revisiting old haunts and make plans to visit new sites. Quinta Pé da Cruz is once again my home for…
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Paddle your own kayak
Kayaking is an activity I really do enjoy. It must be said, however, that my kayaking experience, until Wednesday February 7, was limited to fresh water inland rivers in southwestern Ontario and western Québec. My Quinta neighbours, Guido and Karine invited me to join their hiking group in a kayaking adventure organized by Kim. Our…
Five Feet, Nine Inches Above Ground 