Seville was to be our city of reunion and celebration. On the reunion front we last saw George and Emma in July when they left Totnes in their camper van bound for Denmark and the start of their trip around Europe. It was planned that we would meet up with them in Southern Spain after they had travelled down through Europe from Denmark and Sweden. Seville was to be our point of reunion. We flew from Bristol to Faro in Portugal, hired a car and then drove 200km to Seville where we all met up. It was wonderful to see them both looking fit and well. On the celebratory front it was my birthday on the 19th and without giving too much away it was one of those birthdays that deserves to be marked by a ... read more

Torres Del Paine is one of the world's greatest national parks. It has been emptied of all economic activity with the exception of tourists but there are no shops, restaurants or other material attractions. Just the occasional discrete hotel which blends in with the surroundings. We spent a day visiting lagoons, waterfalls, glaciers,and mountains by the unpaved roads that run throughout the park. The park is dominated by the granite Paine massif and the wonderful views of its towers and horns and these can be seen throughout. The highlight of the day was the cruise on Lago Grey where we sailed to the magnificent glaciers at its northern most part.We sailed amongst the floating icebergs before arriving at the face of the 40 metre high glacier. Our boat was almost upon the face of the glacier ... read more

We flew south from Santiago to Chile's Lake District, being a distance of 1000km. Our destination was Puerto Varas on Lake Llanquihue, which is the third largest natural lake in South America. It is spring time in Chile and the Lake District is lush and green. They tell us that it normally rains on average 250 days a year. All the spring flowers one sees in the UK are to be seen here and it is just like being in Europe in April. This european feeling is strengthened by the German architecture that prevails throughout the area as a result of German immigrants arriving here in the Lake District in the 19th century and setting up businesses and farms. Lake Llanquihue dominates the area and the lake itself is dominated by two active volcanoes. Volcano Osorno ... read more

They say that one of the best times to visit the Lake District is in the Autumn and they are so right especially when the weather is fine and the sun shows its face every now and again. We stayed in a converted coach house to the old vicarage near to Wray Castle on the banks of Lake Windermere. On our our first full day we stepped out of the coach house and were soon on the path along the lake that took us to the ferry opposite Windemere. From Windermere we took the ferry across the lake to Ambleside and then back to Wray Castle. It was glorious. The next day we walked around Rydal Water and took in Rydal Mount, where William Wordsworth spent the last few years of his life. Close by was ... read more

The main purpose of our stay was for rest and relaxation. We stayed at a lovely villa at Panos Stalos with terrific views out towards Chania, the sea and the mountains. It was a wonderful place to relax and unwind but by the second week we started to stir our stumps.On some mornings we drove to nearby Chania and had a leisurely coffee at a harbourside cafe followed by a stroll around the town. Chania is delightful with narrow streets and alleyways crammed with shops and tavernas.Places worth visiting are the Central Market and its surrounding streets, the Archaeological Museum and the Naval Museum which has an interesting WW2 display. Just outside Chania we visited the remains of the Byzantine town of Aptera and the nearby Turkish fort overlooking the sea. Wonderful views of the sea ... read more