Reflecting back on Canary Islands, Spain, France, England

 Overall, a satisfying trip.  We went to the Azores and Madeira on earlier trips because we suspected that they had more to offer.  We were correct; the Canary Islands, while interesting, were not as attractive to us. More of a bleak volcanic landscape with little rain to promote vegetation.  Our cruise ship was satisfactory and allowed us a quick overview of all the islands.

Spain has much to offer.  A first world country with great cities and an excellent train system.  You do not want to drive in the larger cities. Our problem was with the success of Spanish tourism, crowds of tourists at every location. We did not come to stand in line and see scenes dominated by other tourists. Perhaps October to March would be a better time to visit.

Morocco was only a brief visit; enough for an impression influenced by our guide’s knowledge (a 4-year course in tourism, including languages, history, economics, culture, and mythology of Morocco). We were impressed by the inequality. Palace of the king; estates of Saudi princes, then the lower status of women and the lower education standard for the rural poor versus free university education for the wealthy.

France was the high point for us. Great landscapes and scenic villages. Most other tourists were Europeans, many French. Certainly, we were not alone at these tourist sights, but fellow tourists were in reasonable numbers. The weather was mild, and the driving was easy.

Northern England towns and villages were not as attractive.  The beauty is in the landscape of mountains, lakes, and forests. The people were friendly and helpful, but there was a sense of hard economic times with some wear and ‘making do’.  The driving was difficult, not just due to narrow roads, but the expensive and congested parking. We had our most comfortable accommodation in Cockermouth, not just a room but an apartment you could spread out and relax in.

We learned a lot about how people live in various new (for us) locations. I tried to make it a relaxing trip, but I think we defeated ourselves, each day trying to fill our schedule with new excursions. Now, we go home, and I need to finish the details for our next trip.

Lake District, England

 Getting here was a long day: drive 130 miles to Bordeaux, 2 1/2 hour on an aircraft, an hour getting our car rental, then slow miles at rush hour coming out of Manchester while driving an unfamiliar car on the wrong side of a unfamiliar road to drive the 137 miles to Cockermouth. And I was sick due to my lactose exposure at our previous night’s dinner. Today at lunch when I explained my lactose intolerance (no dairy please), The server’s reply was, “There should be no problem because our bread is gluten-free.” Then I had to explain that gluten has nothing to do with lactose.  Perhaps the previous meal was prepared using the same mistake.

Still getting to know Cockermouth.  Today, I went to six barbers/salon trying to get a haircut.  Three closed and three fully booked.  Perhaps, I’ll try again during the week. Glorious weather; low 60’s and sunny; many folks outside wearing their shorts. We drove to Loweswater to take a hike.  The roads here are extremely narrow and winding. Dawn handled the driving well but was emotionally exhausted by it. Reminded us of a drive we took in Ireland where we finished an entire bottle of wine at the bar once we got safely back to our hotel.  The hike was also disappointing; instead of a trail, much of the route consisted of walking along those same narrow roads.

We did a complete circuit around Buttermere lake, about four miles.

More of Buttermere.  The large yellow patches on the mountain side are a plant called, "broom".  A nice Scottish lady, a fellow hiker, explained it to us and then sang a song about the broom flower.  We fortunately are there while it was in bloom.

More recently, we have taken very enjoyable hikes at Buttermere (4 miles) and Derwent Water (5 miles).  At Buttermere, we went completely around the lake and then stopped at the lakeside hotel for a late lunch. At Derwent Water, we walked much of the route (out and back) along the west shore in an ancient forest of huge mature trees creating a complete covering deflecting rain from occasional dark clouds.  At other times, we were under blue skies with fleecy white puffs of cloud.

Derwent Water; this is a bigger lake.  We hiked about 1/3 of the distance around and then retraced back, a total of about five miles.

More Derwent Water.  The English Lake District is full of lakes and low mountains.  Many hiking trails are present but, unless you are hiking a shoreline, most consist of large altitude changes as you go up and down mountains.  (We are too old for that.)

Cockermouth has little of the charm that the French and Spanish villages had.  It is in a less affluent part of England where many past factory jobs are gone. Many second-hand stores. It does include the ruins of a large castle about 800 years old. There are more sheep than people.in this region.  Lamb is on every menu. The people are friendly; people in general love to be asked about themselves and the area they live in. Finally, we are back in English-speaking lands.

Dawn on the path around Buttermere.

In the southern part of the Lake District things are more well-kept with more attractive architecture.  But that area is also closer to large cities and has a greater concentration of tourists. We spent our last night in England at the Holiday Inn, Manchester Airport. A beautiful hotel (best breakfast of the trip and we have had some great breakfasts) which is integrated into the Airport complex where you can walk to any of their three terminals in elevated enclosed passageways.

We stopped at a boat museum at Windermere, toward the south edge of the Lake District, on our way south to Manchester.  The legacy of boating on this lake extends back many centuries.

When making this reservation back in March, I made a mistake and booked two rooms instead of one (only time this has ever happened).  At the time, I quickly contacted the hotel to correct my mistake, but they claimed that no change could be made because the reservation was nonrefundable.  Checking into the hotel, I confirmed that we were still paying for two rooms.  The desk agent was sympathetic, but the manager was adamant.  In a trip of this length, the cost of one night at a hotel is a minor glitch.

That evening, Dawn and I took our daily walk using the terminal complex for exercise and to learn where we needed to be the following morning.  Returning to our hotel, we came upon an old man (older than us) towing his suitcases through the passageway.  He appeared rather tired; admitted that he had a bad day; but declined our offer of help with the suitcases.  He explained that he was supposed to have flown out that day to New York to visit his son, but, due to passport issues, he now was rescheduled for the following day and needed to get a hotel for the evening.

Bam! Dawn and I had the same thought.  We escorted him to our hotel; I went ahead while Dawn showed him the way.  When he arrived at our hotel, I presented him with the keycard for our second room.  We escorted him to his room and explained that he just needed to provide his room number to enjoy a free breakfast!  I am sure that he was dumbfounded.  What a great chance for us to "pay it forward".  What a story he has to tell his son!  And Dawn and I slept better knowing that a good outcome resulted from our situation.

The Dordogne River valley

 We are now staying at a B&B in Sarlat la Caneda in the Dordogne River valley. To get here, you need to rent a car and drive some back roads, not a major center of tourism. You may easily get distracted and stop at other picturesque villages, such as Perigueux, on your way here. We did.  

We thought this quite unusual. Located at Perigueux.

Most tourists here are French. The surroundings are storybook, tall limestone cliffs, picturesque villages in yellow-tan stone, castles and chateaus scattered through the heavily forested slopes, and a pleasant winding River, carrying kayaks and canoes, flowing through the center of it all.  The area is also notable for the prehistoric cave paintings found here. Its beauty has made the area a popular location for the filming of movies.

The village of La Roque Gageac sited under the cliffs of the Dordogne River valley with the river itself nearby.

Beynac Chateau and its village below.

The beautiful green valley of the Dordogne River.  Many scenic villages and history here: from cave paintings by Cro-Magnon's to the castles of the medieval era.

Our first night here, we found a small restaurant open where we were the first customers (those early-dining Americans), and we had the chef all to ourselves. Our chef, Julian, has studied for four years in Paris and prepared plates of tapas (small plates of items to be shared) that were sumptuous.  Monday was a national holiday here, the end of WWII in Europe. We visited the village of Domme atop a rocky plateau overlooking the valley and then hiked a park located in a similar circumstance with trees and trails on a 500’ high plateau with views of the river valley and multiple castles.

Today we did laundry at a local laundromat this morning and then toured the chateau previously owned by Josephine Baker this afternoon. You should Wikipedia her name, she led an amazing life. This evening we did a partial exploration of the medieval old town section of Sarlat. Tomorrow, we plan to visit more of the ancient and fascinating villages.

I love those ancient, hand-laid stone buildings.

Putting a new timber beam roof on an old stone building, most likely a tile roof.  some of the old buildings have hand-laid stone times, very heavy stuff.

Isn't that pretty?  Dawn and I very much prefer to look at the old architecture than the inside of museums.

Part of traveling is the people you meet. On our cruise we met ‘Nancy’ who stated that she had been on cruises for the past 4 1/2 months and has visited in total 174 countries in her overall travels. I can’t even do the math on that one.  She was traveling by herself and had limited mobility.  She had a private van and driver to escort her on tours. Better than sitting at home if you can afford it.

In Madrid we had a tour guide for an evening of Spanish food at local restaurants. She was originally from Koln, Germany, but had lived in England for five years, one year in the US in Oregon, Santiago, Chile, for college classes, and now in Spain for five years. Her husband is from Argentina. Very knowledgeable.

A young server we met here was originally from Spain but also had lived in Germany (divorced parents).  He plans to stay here until the end of Summer, improving his French language skills, then back to school. He is considering changing his major from engineering to tourism. His command of English is a given.

Central Sarlat la Caneda.  Tourists, but not crowded. We had several nice dinners in this village (and one bad one).

Our hostess here is Claudine, born and raised here; she speaks limited English. Very ready to discuss topics with us but Google Translate is always at hand. Her husband, Patrick, speaks no English. Another couple staying here at the B&B were from Germany. She spoke only German, he (originally from Netherlands) speaks multiple languages and has traveled widely. We were able to trade commentary on many subjects with him.

This is the chateau of Josephine Baker. She was a young Black girl from St. Louis who moved to France in the 1920s and found fame and fortune.  Amazing story; check it out on Wikipedia. 

Tomorrow will be a long travel day drive-fly-drive to Cockermouth, England, and our next adventure.