West Highland Way (second half)

2-3 June 2018

We realised we hadn't done much hiking this year and the feet were starting to hitch. In preparation of our big hike in the Dolomites in September, and with "good" weather forecasted, we headed for a 2 day hike along the West Highlands Way. I walked the route years ago, and last year I run the half Glencoe Gathering marathon. While running through those places I thought Paul should definitely see them and the route was added to the “to do” list. We only had 2 days though, so that we opted for the best bit, Bridge of Orchy to Fort Williams, with the idea to climb Ben Nevis on our last day.

Caingorms Loop

05 to 07 May 2018

Stonehave to Ballatear – 75km / 646m up

The start of the journey was not the most auspicious. We could only book the 10.30m train to Stonehaven as the previous ones had no bike spaces so that reluctantly we had a late start, perfectly sincronised with the tens and tens of football fans heading to Aberdeen for the match...the horror, never ever again please!

Easter in Mull

31 March to 02 April 2018

You really don't need to go far away to find amazing places, even more true if you are lucky enough to live in Scotland! In line with our “let's fly less” plan we decided to spend a few days cycling in the Isle of Mull in the West Coast of Scotland. I still can't believe that it took me 10 years to get to visit it, it's now in my top list of favourite places for landscapes and wildlife. Truth is that we were extremely lucky with the weather, while most of the UK was sinking in rain we were in the only corner blessed with sunshine, well some gale wind too but not a single drop of rain. The weather put off many people from traveling, so that the roads were not too busy and most of the time we were alone in stunning places. Alone is not probably the right word since wildlife abounded and regularly entertained us.

Mallorca 2018

We couldn't have chosen a better week for this winter break. Edinburgh was badly hit by a Siberian snow storm and we left the day after the airport re-opened and skipped all the aftermath, perfect timing indeed!

Bye bye snowy Edinburgh!

As usual we were looking for a warm place to stock up some vitamin D and do some hiking and cycling, we were not disappointed, I could have done with some more vitamin D but overall it was a brilliant place to explore.

We stayed in Palma, at the Hotel Zurbarán and were impressed by the size of the city. The Hotel was a bit far away from the train and bus station, which meant a good 7km walk every day (sometimes 14) just to get there and back. The walk itself was quite nice though and it gave us a good opportunity to explore new streets everytime we walked it. On a positive note we were 5 min away from the castle and its huge park. If we will ever go again we will definitely choose a place close to the Plaza Espanya!

Tenerife
2 to 9 December 2017

We were looking for an active winter break and Tenerife ticked every box: mountains, sun, cycling and walking routes, and a direct flight from Edinburgh. The choice was easy and we were not disappointed!

GR11 – 200km walk in the Spanish Pyrenees
19 to 11 August 2017

In summary:

Walking days: 10

Tot km: 187

Average km/day: 18.7

Tot elevation: 9700m

Tot passes: 11

Getting started

The GR11 has been in my bucket list for a long time. I originally wanted to run it, but my Achilles kicked away the running shoes and brought me boots instead, possibly a good thing since the terrain was way more difficult than what I expected.

Cuba 2016 – ¡Aquí no se rinde nadie carajo!

(nobody will surrender here by Camilo Cienfuegos)

Cuba was the utopia, an idea that builds new worlds possible, the impossible triumph of justice over foreign despotism, the land of strong ideals and principles. Deaf to the critics we would occasionally hear, we felt that the Revolution had to be supported, because they deserve it, because against all the odds they managed to beat Goliath.

With this mindset we bought our tickets to Cuba and planned to cycle most of the island to discover first hand its beauty and rebellious essence. Truth is, after spending 6 weeks cycling