A walk round the block.

One place I've not visited this summer is a field lying between Kings Hill and Manor Country Park.

Last time it was a meadow, rich with various plants and insects. The grasses reached waist high and red clover scaled up them creating a tapestry of reds and golds and greens.

There was one area full of pyramid orchids tucked away amongst the white clover and corn poppies.

The air buzzed and it was a rich habitat.

I noted this was cut down come the autumn and presumed it would make good hay for the horses.

Unsurprisingly, I fancied a revisit. I parked up in the car park at Manor Country Park (£3 for all day parking, £3.60 on the parking app) and through the overflow carpark to the gate which leads to the field.

I was shocked. The field was almost unrecognisable from previous years. Biodiversity had shrunk, mares tail, the scourge of any area was widely seen, few native plants remained save for a few white clovers, thistles. Even the grasses had narrowed to a few festucas.

The further I walked, the more apparent it became, this field was slowly returning to scrub.

I presume there must be insects other than ants as I came across a few of these webs. They reminded me of similar sights on Tenerife and in Cape Verde. The spiders may have been super-sized, but they were essentially the same genus.

In this photo I had disturbed it so it wasn't sitting with pairs of legs together creating an odd 4-legged appearance. 

I left the field.

To return to the car I walked along the A228, Ashdown Way. I was amazed by the diversity in the verges (I was walking along a dedicated footpath). I was so pleased to see everything from dandelions to pink scabious, blackberry to ornamental thistle. The verge was a mix of escapees to naturally wild. 

And then the best bit arrived. I had reached the slope up to the bridge across the dual carriageway. On the slope was a plethora of pyramid orchids, strong and clearly living in perfect conditions.

What a lovely way to end a wander around the block.

Flapping dogs

I'd forgotten these,

They were outside the art gallery in Bilbao. The mouths on these dogs were like casternettes and when they started up all the dog bounced up and down with the effort of playing them.

They were so good, I had to give them some change.

On seeing this, they bowed deeply and thanked me for my contributions. 

It was a lovely accompaniment to waiting for our coach to come and collect us.

I found this and grinned

I introduced Shirley to a pass time called, "watching paint dry" and it became both absorbing and great fun.

With the weather being as unpleasant as it was and me not feeling 100% we sat in areas where the view was good but we were out of the rain and wind.

One day we spent the entire morning watching a ferry unloading army vehicles and then driving them off to somewhere close. The drivers were then returned by coach and the next batch of vehicles unloaded and dispatched.

It sounds boring but in fact we were riveted by the whole process.

Bristling with police, military precision and extreme slowness, the whole process was mesmerizing. 

Another wet and unpleasant day in La Rochelle we watched tankers coming into a warehouse and being filled with some white powder. 

I wondered why the cabs were sitting outside the warehouse, then I saw the reason. Clouds of white powder billowed out the doors covering the area in white frosting.

We spent ages attempting to solve the puzzle: what was it?

The tankers then came out and screwed down the four shoots. The whole process was slow, methodical and mesmerising. 

Our fascination then turned to three men, a dumper truck, two cement mixers, buckets and a pickup truck.

They were building a wall? Enclosing an area? 

In the end we had to get the binoculars. 

Yep, they were building a wall and reinforcing it (this came in the pick up). The cement was mixed, dumped in the bucket on the dumper and then scooped out by the bucket load. They then threw this behind cement blocks.

Pass? 

Rain stopped play on that one, washing all the powder away.

A thoroughly enjoyable morning.

Learnt a lot and mused even more. 

Pleasant morning, Shirley, watching paint dry. 

Porto and other places

 The very large cruise ships which carry several thousand passengers might offer the customers on board a myriad of different things to do but they are killing the places they dock.

Some of these ships carry four thousand passengers; this disgorging onto the quiet towns and villages is starting to cause disquiet and I am not surprised.

Smaller ships, like ours are viewed with as much displeasure as those causing the hoards and berths which once were pleasant and close to the towns are now closed with cruise ships being moved to terminals organised for freight, or as in one place, the dry docks for ship maintenance and/or refits.

Taken from my balcony at 1am, this was our view on port side; two ships in the refit yard. It was noisy but I must admit, I slept through it all.

Vigo itself was very lovely even though the weather didn't want to play ball. The estuary here is lined with mussel bed frames, Vigo being known for mussels cooked in garlic and wine. Must admit, I'd like to have tried that.

Dominating the landscape is Lookout Hill and this is the church situated at the top. From here one can see all the way up and down the river to the sea; a useful place to come and stand if you were waiting for ships to return or to repel invaders.

Some photographs from my other phone...

One aspect of being away has been my continual frustration with EE and roaming. For some inexplicable reason, my contract, although set to allow EU roaming refuses to give me the access. As a consequence I am only now able to upload some of the pictures.

They will be out of sequence, obviously, but I hope they will jog memories for Shirley and myself and be of interest to others who might take a look.

 One of our last comments at night, "See you, deck 6, at 9:30am" You could guarantee we would happen across one another here, a really good spot to meet, chat, have coffee and then go into a lecture in the theatre.

The combination of the superstructure of the stern of the ship against the futuristic terminal building at Matosinhos. It is a centre for marine conservation with two of the floors set aside as laboratories and research rooms. As I wandered around I noticed groups of students discussing aspects of their studies.

In this area, the production of mussels for sale is a major source of finance and there were large numbers of mussel bed platforms especially in Vigo. Here, there was a project looking into the sustainability of three mussel types which would stand the changing water temperatures as the climate changed.

Matosinhos is an interesting place and shouldn't be overlooked. The buildings there are like many of the places in Porto, dark granite and often covered in beautiful tiles. If I was younger then the walk along the sea front to Porto would have been a really enjoyable one, albeit rather wet. I would have been joining many who were making the pilgrimage to Santiago, following one of the main routes from Portugal to Spain.

I couldn't go too far unfortunately. We were due to depart within the hour so I did a very quick wander to the nearest points to the harbour entrance.

 

It doesn't matter where in you are in the world, "dumpster-diving" happens everywhere. This seagull was completely unperturbed by my presence, in fact the look was one of, "and...?" I left him to it as he rooted around in the McDonald cartons.

An example of the dark, granite building materials used in this part of the world. Below is an example of how they cover the surface with ceramic tiles, often hand-painted to revel biblical stories or ones reflecting past industries. Why do they coat their buildings? To improve wear it appears as well as portray stories which were then read and interpreted by those who were illiterate.

Two main pieces of sculpture dominate this part of Porto, the group of women waiting for their men to return and the recent addition of the supersized fishing net which moves in the wind. At night, the fishing net glows and shimmers. Sadly we had already left before we could witness this.

Towards St Malo

There are a few things I adore about being at sea; being at sea, watching as dawn breaks and the basking in the sun sets. Next come the staff who greet you as long lost family members. They remember your name, your likes and dislikes. 

Last night was our first true sun set. The colours filled the sky and the fading blue added to the splendour. 

This morning portends toward another nice day, something we have been lacking until now.

Looking back through the photographs I took, the only break in the rain or dull, breezy and overcast was whilst out walking in Leixões, a brief snippet, and Vigo, for about 2 hours.

This morning is our final day and the sun comes out showing just how pleasant it could be.

That phrase 'better late than never' rings true here.

I am starting to feel more like myself but this virus is nasty and the coughing has pulled muscles in my rib cage...... bloody painful.

Shirley doesn't seem as bad today. It's probably the two whiskey and ginger she had last night. Chased the bugger away!

We anchored off shore on the side

furthest away from St Malo and the Ferry Terminal  with our cabins facing Dinard. To us, this looked far more interesting than the other side but still, we watched as the ducks travelled the greater distance from where we were to a docking point in St Malo.

No, we didn't get off but availed ourselves of warmth and relaxation up on the Lido Deck once more. It was really nice to be up there and to follow the sun around.

We've thanked the staff we wanted to and given tips to those we wish so now it's the wind down for disembarking tomorrow. 

I'm off at 9.25am (19) and Shirley is 9.35am (21) so neither of us have long to wait.