Thursday, June 20, 2013
I'm Ba-a-ack!!
Please excuse the protracted absence... as soon as I got home it was straight back to work and the hurly burly hecticness that is everyday life...
The holiday? It was great! Although I very nearly didn't get to Spain on 24th May... I boarded my BA flight at Heathrow for the 8:30am flight and we sat on the tarmac for a few minutes, before the Captain told us that the south runway was closed so we were going to have to use the north runway. Ten minutes later nothing had happened, and he then told us the north runway was now closed due to a plane returning to the airport due to technical issues so we were waiting for the south runway to be reopened.
Another passenger came up to the people sitting near me and said that apparently, according to Twitter, the returned plane had suffered an engine fire, and had to deploy the emergency chutes. It was only when I returned home I discovered that this had indeed been the case, and that Heathrow had cancelled over 100 short haul flights until 4pm. We were an hour late taking off, which in the grand scheme of things was nothing... I think if we hadn't all been on board and ready to leave we would have been there for hours.
Barcelona was beautiful, and it was lovely to spend time with my Dad and Step mum. But this being an endurance adventures blog I guess people are more interested to hear about the mountains!
The Picos de Europa literally means 'The Peaks of Europe' and are situated in the Asturias, Cantabria, Castile and Leon areas of Northern Spain. The mountain range is made up of three massifs- Central, Eastern and Western. These mountains are limestone and the landscape was formed by glaciation.
We stayed in Sotres, which is the highest village in the Picos and situated in the Cabrales region of Asturias. It was certainly a spectacular location- cream and white buildings nestled amongst mighty jagged peaks. Perfect walking country.
Unfortunately we didn't have perfect walking weather... when I first booked I just assumed oh yes... Spain at the end of May... hot, sunny, great views, clear skies... it wasn't until I looked online a few days before I was due to fly that I thought- hang on, it could actually be chilly!
And it was... it was remarkably like the Lake District during a wet spell- mists, obscured views, rain, rain and more rain... most disappointing! A couple of group members were caught out by this and had to by fleeces from the shop attached to the hotel. Our tour leader said that it was usually much warmer and much more settled by this time of year, but they had had a lot more snow than usual this year... seems as though the winter weather we had has affected all of Europe.
It did brighten up towards the end of the week and I think I did get some good shots. There were 8 of us on the tour, 6 chaps and 2 ladies, just a nice number for getting to know each other, and of course our guide Juan. I will post accounts of each day's walk, with photos, but for now please indulge me and let me share a few pics of Barcelona with you... well I did do a lot of walking whilst I was there...
The Cathedral
Las Ramblas
Oh yummy...
Casa Batllo
Inside The Sagrada Familia
Park Guell
Arts Museum Near Placa d'Espana
The holiday? It was great! Although I very nearly didn't get to Spain on 24th May... I boarded my BA flight at Heathrow for the 8:30am flight and we sat on the tarmac for a few minutes, before the Captain told us that the south runway was closed so we were going to have to use the north runway. Ten minutes later nothing had happened, and he then told us the north runway was now closed due to a plane returning to the airport due to technical issues so we were waiting for the south runway to be reopened.
Another passenger came up to the people sitting near me and said that apparently, according to Twitter, the returned plane had suffered an engine fire, and had to deploy the emergency chutes. It was only when I returned home I discovered that this had indeed been the case, and that Heathrow had cancelled over 100 short haul flights until 4pm. We were an hour late taking off, which in the grand scheme of things was nothing... I think if we hadn't all been on board and ready to leave we would have been there for hours.
Barcelona was beautiful, and it was lovely to spend time with my Dad and Step mum. But this being an endurance adventures blog I guess people are more interested to hear about the mountains!
The Picos de Europa literally means 'The Peaks of Europe' and are situated in the Asturias, Cantabria, Castile and Leon areas of Northern Spain. The mountain range is made up of three massifs- Central, Eastern and Western. These mountains are limestone and the landscape was formed by glaciation.
We stayed in Sotres, which is the highest village in the Picos and situated in the Cabrales region of Asturias. It was certainly a spectacular location- cream and white buildings nestled amongst mighty jagged peaks. Perfect walking country.
Unfortunately we didn't have perfect walking weather... when I first booked I just assumed oh yes... Spain at the end of May... hot, sunny, great views, clear skies... it wasn't until I looked online a few days before I was due to fly that I thought- hang on, it could actually be chilly!
And it was... it was remarkably like the Lake District during a wet spell- mists, obscured views, rain, rain and more rain... most disappointing! A couple of group members were caught out by this and had to by fleeces from the shop attached to the hotel. Our tour leader said that it was usually much warmer and much more settled by this time of year, but they had had a lot more snow than usual this year... seems as though the winter weather we had has affected all of Europe.
It did brighten up towards the end of the week and I think I did get some good shots. There were 8 of us on the tour, 6 chaps and 2 ladies, just a nice number for getting to know each other, and of course our guide Juan. I will post accounts of each day's walk, with photos, but for now please indulge me and let me share a few pics of Barcelona with you... well I did do a lot of walking whilst I was there...
Labels: Barcelona, Picos de Europa
