Abergavenny food festival - delicious

Everyone loves a good food festival, it's the perfect opportunity to graze and not feel bad about it, tempting treats come from all directions and samples galore pull you in.  One of the best is the Abergavenny food festival usually taking towards the end of September just when people have that into Autumn feeling and its starting to get cooler, this is one event that gets you back outside for that final splurge of sunshine.

The setting is perfect, even without the food festival  Abergavenny is the quintessential market town, enough services to feel bustling but small enough to have that personnel feel, as if you are always going to bump into at least one person you know.  And surrounding the town, the three peaks of the Blorenge, the Sugarloaf and the Skirrid provide awesome views to anyone willing to take on the challenge of walking to the tops.

If lucky, the rain will stay off and bring out the crowds.  The main street becomes full of pop up stalls each offering a variety of wares, the local shops join in too with tables spilling onto the street.  This year was a riot of colour as red and white stripped canvas roofs covered the stalls, helium balloon sellers paced up and down, their balloons glimmering in the sun, and the beautiful hats of Alison Todd's window display adding to the rainbow.

Alison Todd Creations

As well as this other areas set up around the town, the Brewery yard is often the first port of call.  Many cheeses, pies and tasty beverages await here, and having sampled and brought your fill you can choose one of the many stalls offering lunch/dinner treats.  One of the best offering this year was Meat and Greek, making freshly cooked Souvlaki, grilling on hot coals and served in pita with salads and sauces.

Meat and Greek

The Market Hall usually home of Abergavenny's popular Tuesday market is transformed into   the food stage.  This is the place to check out the local fresh talented chefs as well as a few more famous faces.  Whilst watching on the big screen you can enjoy a local beer and be brought cooked samples directly from the stage.  It's even fun to watch people watching, taking notes  for that one time when they will try and recreate what they saw.  If nothing else it's a good place to sit and get some energy back for more intense grazing.

The rest of the market hall is full of stalls, chocolate and homemade pastries seemed to be particularly big at this year's event, but local yogurts, butchery and artisan breads also put in a fine appearance.  The most popular stall as always was the Chase gin and vodka stand.  Little tasters drew big crowds and many left with bags full, Elderflower and Rhubarb being my tipple of choice.

Other must visit locations include the Priory area.  A must for all seafood lovers.  Soft shell crabs, oysters and calamari as well as traditional fish and chips filled the air with delicious smells.  Many a choice the only difficult decision being what to have a which of the wines on offer to have with it.

 

The castle grounds are also transformed.  A stage for live music and debate and yet more food stall.  This area is especially great at night when crowds party into the night listening to live bands the back drop of the castle proving an atmospheric setting.  One Saturday night this is also the location of a large fireworks display that can be seen all over town.

 

One final mention must go to the Mushroom man.  A man that makes mushrooms out of wood.  Who knows what for but hey why not? he is very popular and after all everyone should make room for the whimsical.

There only two things I can add.  Firstly - if you can make it to the festival stay the weekend and try out some of the local bars and restaurants.  The Farmers arms does a fine pint, and Pizzorante makes the best Italian food I have eaten in the UK.  Make sure you have the garlic bread!  

And secondly this one's for the organisers, next year can you persuade the stall owners to have small sample dishes for a pound or two? after all with so much to choose from and only 2 lunchs and dinners to fit it all it, it's a difficult choice to reject some things that look so delicious.  Cheaper smaller samples are definitely the way forward.

Come next year, I'll see you there!  

 

 

Relaxing on Roatan Island, Honduras

Roatan Island at approximately 33 miles long and 4 miles wide is the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands.  Located in the Caribbean Sea this tropical island is only an hour boat ride from the mainland, or a short flight from Houston.  However unlike other more famous Caribbean Islands this is only just started to be discovered by tourists.  True, backpackers have known about this secret waiting to be explored for decades, but now's the time to go before everyone else hears about it.

Getting the boat to Roatan

And what a treat, bath water warm crystal blue waters and white sandy beaches are on offer, and there's no fighting for space for your umbrella, indeed you could even have whole stretches to yourself.  One of the best beaches on the Island is located at the South West tip at West Bay, a huge curve of sand lined with beach bars and restaurants and several dive centres.  It's possible to hire snorkelling gear and swim from the shore to see vast coral gardens, large brain coral, fan coral and many other species just a few metres under the surface.  If you don't fancy the 10 minute swim out, there are numerous men with boats just waiting to take you.  For $35 for three people, for two hours, snorkelling gear included, we were able to get a little further out, where the coral was even more vibrant and had not been damaged by careless feet.

West Bay

Divers have know about this spot for years, indeed its one of the best value places in the world to learn to dive.  And the reason for this is that Roatan just happens to be located on the Mesoamerican Barrier reef, the largest in the Caribbean Sea and second largest barrier reef in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef.  Being a snorkeler not a diver I hoped I wouldn't miss out, but I needn't have worried, just a short 5 minute boat ride from the shore shoals of fish can be seen close to the surface.  In fact the water is so clear that the visibility is excellent, you can even wave at the divers several metres below.

We were warned to pick our visiting day to West Bay carefully as once a week, a cruise ship arrive and disgorges a few thousand people for a couple of hours.  Spend, eat, drink, swim and then just a fast as they arrived they disappear.  This is great for the people who live and work on the island, but for the rest of us were glad they weren't going to spoil the isolated paradise for longer.

West End

We stayed in West End, just round the coast from West Bay, but with a quieter laid back feel.  It reminded me of some of the coastal towns in Vietnam and Thailand before they were 'discovered'.  This place is still really only for budget travellers, but with plenty of variable quality accommodation to choose from there's no need to suffer in a hot dorm room in tropical heat.  There's just one 'main street' which runs parallel to the beach and this is where all the action takes place.  There's a few supermarkets and many souvenir shops, all selling the same kind of things, great price hammocks and the 'uniform' clothes and beads of the 'backpacker'.

There's also the cafe bars serving banana pancakes for breakfast and chilled beer for the rest of the day, as well as numerous good quality and reasonably priced restaurants.  One deserving a special mention is Creole's Rotisserie Chicken, packed with locals and tourist alike every evening, you can smell it before you arrive.  Plastic tables and chairs overflow from the main restaurant as everyone crams in to sample the roast chicken, and salads.  Later in the evening the bars come alive with music, from expected stereotypical reggae tunes to the 'Blue Marlins' karaoke night.

 

Could you spend the week here? go on then.  Even longer and you could explore the rest of the Bay Islands.  Just Ssshhh, don't tell everyone.

Roatan from the air

 

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

Vietnam - Hanoi to Halong Bay

We were excited to arrive in Hanoi.  The airport was small but we quickly passed through immigration and took a taxi into town.  The noise is the first thing that hits you, thousands of scooters making their way with their own sense of order through the narrow streets, made smaller by the street vendors selling their wares from the pavement, an astonishing amount of tableware and stainless steel stood out.  Also on the roads, hundreds of bikes and cars and people carrying the tradition pole on their shoulders with various goods attached to the baskets dangling below.  A manic scene to arrive to, but one we quickly got used to in the next few days.

Hanoi Streets

We learnt that a good place to check out Hanoi was from the balconies of the many cafes that lined the streets.  The best ones serving up Vietnamese spring rolls, fresh lemon juice, baguettes (the legacy of the French) and some of the best coffee.  From this elevated position, whilst the coffee slowly dripped through the stainless steel filter into the sweet condensed milk below, it was possible to keep an eye on what's going on, and watch locals and tourists alike haggling for bargains with different degrees of success.

Hanoi is a great place to hang out for a few days.  There is plenty to see as long as you are just happy to wander.  The maze of streets take you from crowded markets, to boutiques selling all sorts of silk and lacquer goods.  Sooner or later it you will end up at the lake in the centre of the city, all roads seem to lead to here.  We took a chance and brought a ticket to see the 'famous' water puppet show, I wrote in my diary 'kind of interesting' make of that what you will.

Perfume River

After a few days in Hanoi we decided to venture on out a trip to the 'Perfume Pagoda', 60 km southwest of Hanoi found in the limestone hills that seem to rise out of nowhere in the paddy fields.  We got to the start of the path to the grotto by means of a traditional boat along the Perfume river, as it was January it wasn't busy, but judging by the many boats lined up on the side of the banks we could only imagine what it was like in peak season.  For us though it was peaceful, a view of paddy fields and farmers wearing traditional conical hats and colourful clothes.  The only others on the river were a couple of boats full of soldiers, out on a day trip! 

 

 

The path was steep to the Pagoda, which turned out to be a grotto, a gaping cavern accessed by a steep decent of 120 steps.  A place of Buddhist worship, the smell of incense permanently lingered and created a haze in the air, adding to the atmosphere of this spiritual site.  As we climbed down we saw the foundations of a cable car being build, a disappointing image to leave such a sacred area with.

Perfume River Temple

Top of the list when thinking about a trip to Vietnam was a trip to Halong Bay, a picture postcard image of the essence of Vietnam, 2000ish limestone islands rising up from the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin.  Well we made it, unfortunately on possibly the worst weather day of the year.  We could only imagine the beautiful scenery laid out before us as we made our way to the boat dock.  As a positive we had the whole boat to ourselves, clearly the only foreigners mad enough to be taking this trip today.  Still we got the picture, and as the boat made its zigzag path between the formations the mist lifted at times giving us a tantalising view of what had been promised.  We stopped twice, both times at caves that had been discovered by fishermen a few decades before.  One had been nicely 'neon'ed', but the other more impressive without the added bling.

Halong Bay

Once back on shore, coats and woolly hat still on we wandered around the small town, and got the impression that it only really came alive in the sunshine.  So we found a cafe on the waterfront and order Pho, followed by banana pancakes, all washed down with ice cold beer.  Hanoi and the Perfume River had been great, Halong bay a disappointment, but that's the way it often goes, the least sold destinations are always the best.

Sunrise over Sinai

Whenever people ask me which is my favourite travel experience, it's always a difficult answer, but one day always makes it into the top ten.  I had been travelling through Egypt for two weeks already, had crossed the White Desert, swum in an oasis that appeared as a welcome vision out of nowhere, taken in my fill of history, temples and pyramids and escaped the chaos of Luxor and Cairo.  Now I found myself in the Sinai peninsula, a vast open expanse of desert, dry land and mountains, interspersed with a few isolated villages, settlements and many goats.

We stopped after a very long hot drive next to Saint Catherine's Monastery at the base of Mt Sinai.  Our reason for being here, to climb to the top and take in the sunrise.  Mt Sinai is famous according to the book of Exodus as the mountain at which the ten commandments were given to Moses by God.  Now, as well as being a destination for the several travellers that make their way to this remote spot, it's also a place of pilgrimage for many who come to feel the magic of this special place.

We had heard talk of large crowds that gather on the top and, keen to get a good spot we started our trek up the mountain at 11.30 p.m. armed with water and sleeping bag.  The trek up follows the camel path, we were lucky, the brightness of the moon lit our way and added to the silent atmosphere, the mountains at their most beautiful in the colourful hues of the dusky light that lit them, a far cry from the reddish hues of the days heat.  It was quite a trek as the path wound its way up the side of the mountain, near the top just before 2 a.m. we reached the steps of repentance, the final challenge to pilgrims looking for forgiveness.  Victory was ours 15 minutes later as we took the final step and made the summit.  The top of the mountain is surprisingly a little flat, a perfect spot of a church and a snack stall.  So having repented we brought cups of hot sweet tea and found a spot to get settled in. 

As we attempted sleep, there was a noticeable change in air temperature and we were glad that we had bothered to haul sleeping bags up here.  Sleep came and went, the stars filling the sky and proving a distraction too many, despite the weariness of the legs and the late hour.  Finally we drifted off, surrounded by just a few fellow pilgrims.

Just before 5 a.m. we awoke to mummers of quiet chatter all around.  There must have been 400 hundred people all here to see one thing.  And it didn't disappoint, standing on the edge looking out over the endless horizon of the desert plain, the sun began to rise filling the land with blues, pinks, yellow and bright orange as the light was turned on over Moses' mountain.  Whatever your feelings about religion no one could have helped but be impressed with the majesty of what we had been lucky enough to see.

With the crowds this time, we made our way down the side of the mountain and back to our truck in time for banana pancakes!  The moment lost as reality set back in.  One final effort took us to St Catherine's monastery with is beautiful frescos and inlays of gold.  Even the chance to see the 'burning bush'  which is looking particularly green after all this time.  From here it was time to leave the interior and make our way to the coast, but the imprint of that sunrise has stayed in my memories for a long time.