Brighton - because you're never too old for the Carousel

The best thing about that strange thing we call the 'Bank holiday' is that it comes around every year on the last weekend of August.  Three glorious non work days to look forward to, and of course for every British person worth their namesake a trip to the seaside.  It doesn't matter which one you choose, traditional fishing villages, large stretchy of sandy beaches, or one of the more traditional resorts, they all have a lot to give.

My favourite on a Bank holiday is the old fashioned resort, where you are guaranteed to see that most traditional of sights, people walking around in shorts no matter what the weather is throwing at them.  We are British and we are at the seaside.  Alongside this of course are the buckets and spades, ice-cream, fish and chips and if you are really lucky a pier with amusements.

This weekends' choice was Brighton.  Of course more upmarket than most, this happening city on the south coast is always bustling whatever time of year you visit.  Yesterday it was packed with people trying to make the most of the long weekend.  The trick is to arrive fairly early and park along the promenade, then you can join the hundreds of others milling about by the seashore, stroll along to one of the UK's best piers, or if you like head into town and get lost amongst the quaint shops and cafes of 'The Lanes'.

 

First stop is always for coffee, recommended is the Bandstand Cafe, below the Victorian bandstand, a friendly place with a great view.  From there a bracing walk along the promenade taking in the somewhat eerie view of the old pier, its last limbs rusting just of the shore.  There's also new boutique shops fighting for space alongside ice cream parlours, pubs, bars and fish and chip cafes.  In the middle of this, work is on going on what's going to be the i360° a 360° high rise viewing platform which claims to be the world's first vertical cable car, when finished the views should be amazing.

For lunch 'Pho' is always a winner.  Tasty Vietnamese food offerings just off the main promenade.  Follow this with some retail therapy in some of the many individual boutiques scattered in 'The Lanes', a drink in 'The Fortune of War' or if like me you prefer some seaside fun it's a race to the pier.

 

I love it, it's a strange mixture of tack and dated pleasure.  Opened in 1899 you can still image how it used to be when people dressed up for the Bank holiday and took a steam train to the coast.  And besides who can resist a place called the 'Palace of Fun' arcade!  It's a colourful display of neon and a cacophony of sound, as millions of bulbs light up fruit machines, horse racing machines, virtual games and everyones childhood favourite, the 2 pence machines.  Mix this in with chiming and ringing, bells, the dropping of coins and other various noises and you have the sensation of the pier. 

 

If all this gets too much there's always the rides and games on the outside.  The tin can shy, the shooting and the horse racing where Minions in all shapes and sizes seem to be the prizes of the day with people seemingly pouring money into these games to pick up one of those pesky Minions even when, when they get home they have no idea what they will do with it.  A sense of achievement however to all the winners.

I reject rides meant to scare the hell out of you, the Turbo coaster, the Crazy mouse and the Air race, I even reject the Wild river and the Horror Hotel, all of which seem to be providing endless amounts of pleasure for many.  Instead I head to the one ride I always go on.  Its' beautiful decoration, colour, mirrors and splendour drawing me in.  And as I choose my horse, I listen to the traditional organ music and wait to start twirling and reflect you are never too old for the Carousel.  

Hanging out in Antigua, Guatemala

The first thing you can't help but notice in this small Guatemalan city is that its surrounded by 3 vast volcanoes, looming like giants over the town below.  The second thing you notice are the rows of neat coloured houses and other buildings laid out like a grid pattern, letting cooler air funnel through narrow passages and providing much needed shade on at least one half of the street in this low rise city. 

Buildings of various shades of yellows and orange glow warm in the sunshine and seem to invite you in.  The whole city itself was very inviting.  As my first stop in Central America this was proving to be a good start.

Grabbing a map, I followed the cobbled streets through an archway with clock and arrived in the main plaza.  Here first stop was one of the many coffee shops for breakfast and to watch the activity in the square.  Market traders were setting out their wares on trestle tables, a colourful mix of bright fabrics, jewellery, flowers, and various fruits and vegetables. It was a  Sunday morning but the place was filling up fast, many people spilling out of the cathedral and numerous churches scattered amongst the city.

The city itself was founded in the early 16th century and is now protected due to its historic value and appears on the UN's world heritage list.  Wandering around its easy to see why.  The city itself was partially destroyed by a huge earthquake in 1773 and much abandoned by the local people.  This has meant that many of the original architecture and buildings still stand.  Although people re-inhabited the city and rebuilt some of the key buildings the atmosphere has been maintained.  Many of the original churches were not rebuilt and now these partially destroyed buildings add to the atmosphere and cry out for exploration.

It's easy to walk around this city, despite a dodgy map and the intense heat of the day.  There are loads of places to stop, lots of inviting cafes and bars, many with their own shady courtyards or roof top terraces.  The food was good, simple local dishes, steaks, quesadillas and various other Mexican type offerings to go along with the local beer.  What was also nice was the lack of tourists, there were some but the place wasn't overrun.  Walking away from the main plaza, the crowds are quickly left behind.  

I got a tuk-tuk up to El Cerro de la Cruz, just a few minutes' drive out and up outside the city itself.  From here there is a breathtaking view of the city spread out below and a great view of two of the volcanoes that dominate the skyline.  Living this close to these dormant volcanoes although potentially dangerous has given life to the city itself, the surrounding fertile land supporting the cities inhabitants.  Whilst taking in the view one of the volcanoes gives off a few puffs of smoke and reminds me of how close we are in this living landscape. 

Volcano boarding on Cerro Negro, Nicaragua- is the way up better than down?

I'd seen it on the TV before I left home.  Ed and Dara had made a programme about travelling through Central America, they made it look good.  One of the things that stood out, was their visit in Nicaragua to Cerro Negro, a still active but dormant volcano where you can go volcano boarding.  So I thought as I were here I would check it out.

Cerro Negro

I joined a small group of friendly people all prepared to throw themselves down the side of a volcano for fun.  The journey to the volcano passed through fields and volcanic plains as we left the appealing city of Leon and headed toward the ridge of volcanoes located only 40 minutes away.  Helpfully our guide asked the driver to stop so we could take a good picture of the volcano from the bottom and so he could point out the tracks of other sliders.  It looked very steep, and nervous chatter from the group clearly meant I wasn't the only one who was now reconsidering what they had let themselves in for.

The volcano stands out from the others in this area as its black.  Black volcanic lava has created a near perfect cone shape, with a hollow crater in one side and finer black sand and grit on the other.  The edge of the last lava flow stops abruptly at the base of the volcano, clearly seen where black rubble gives way to green scrub.

After stopping to register that we were climbing the volcano in the observation hut we pulled into the car park and got ready to climb.  The boards are pieces of plywood with a piece of thick rope to hang on to and a piece of metal attached underneath to make you slide faster.  The best way to carry them up to the start point was horizontally between your back and the rucksack of jump suit, gloves and goggles needed.  Slightly uncomfortable but not impossible. 

Group photos done we started the climb.  Circling round the back of the crater at first climbing over steep piles of rocks and at times struggling to keep our footing.  Half way up, the climb got easier as the gradient smoothed out and the path became more gravelly.  Despite the heat of the afternoon, there was a cooling breeze, and a couple of places to rest in the shade and admire the view.  This is what made the whole experience worthwhile.  Vast volcanic grasslands spread out below, the light of the afternoon sun spreading a warm glow across the whole area.  And the best part, no sign at all of humans, no buildings, villages or towns.  Just space for as far as the eye could see.

At the top we dumped our bags and boards and finished the climb to the top and rim of the crater.  The volcano gave off gas constantly, reminding us we were standing on an active time bomb!  The views from here if possible were even more spectacular, 360 degree vistas.  Volcanoes in the chain formed a line in front of us, the refreshed green landscape of trees and natural scrub blending with the sky which appeared huge.  And in the distance a glimpse of Leon, a city that sometimes gets covered in ash as the landscape around them lets off steam.  It all felt like such a privilege to be here and share this view with just a few others.

But we could put it off no longer.  It was time to slide.  Large yellow and green jumpsuits were provided which didn't really fit anyone but promised to stop us getting scratched on the way down.  A briefing followed, sit down on board, slide, feet down it you want to slow down.  That was it, short and to the point.  The sense of anticipation grew, then it was my turn, as I waited for the wave meaning it was safe to go I felt positive about this, gloves on, goggles down and I was off.  At first it's exhilarating, then the speed kicks in and you start to think about what you're doing.  Half way down I started to come off the board, I got grounded and stopped, the front of the board dug in the gravel.  Managing to get going again, all thoughts now were of just getting to the bottom as quick as possible.  I picked up speed, despite feet down I wasn't slowing.  Gravel flew at my goggles, and my leg, scratching it like sandpaper.  Aghhh, I wanted to scream, although I couldn't as we had been told to keep our mouths shut in case gravel flew in!  Then the end came and in a far less glamorous end than start I was flung off.  Ouch.

Others came down with interesting degrees of success, one thing in common being the dirty black faces and white goggle marks and sand in places there shouldn't be sand.  But we had all survived and hobbled back to the bus with various injuries, for water melon and beer!

Stopping once again at the volcano monitoring station to sign out we were treated to one last amazing spectacle.  A platform into the trees opened up to a now dark sky, not tainted by light pollution but stars beautifully clear, constellations like the song, diamonds in the sky.  This place it seemed just kept on giving.

Check out the YouTube link below to see a footage shot by some lovely Americas who took on this challenge with me.  Thanks guys. 

https://youtu.be/D-05Je92YaQ