Rotor and Tailplane

6. Raffles Doha?

2024-08-31T05:06:00.002-04:00

Raffles was recommended by The Sunday Times and Visit Qatar. Its reviews made for stunning reading. An all suite hotel, butler on call, an unpacking and packing service, all in a stunning architectural scimitar. A five star or possibly a seven star hotel. Unfortunately as you have already gathered this is not the case. The entrance was underwhelming, good but not really special. This is a shame as at the centre of the building there is a massive entrance and atrium which is inexplicable not being utilised.

Our reception on arrival was again underwhelming. On the plus side the room was special even if it did have faults. The faults first; the finishings in the bathroom were poor, it would seem that the hotel,was built in a rush, scratched tiles poor and sloppy grouting etc. Plugs in the room were poorly positioned as were the light switches, and that TV mentioned earlier had poor sound quality (the speakers were placed behind the cabinetry. The drinks room, yes it was a room was filled with soft drinks and some spirits and wines, but didn’t have a bottle opener. The positives were the sheer size and general decor. The shower was strong and the toilets (two of them) were the Japanese type (wash and blow dry).

Elsewhere the hotel waisted space, were shops should have been there was just empty spaces. The hotel was full of bleak corridors and generally lacked character. Service was polite but disorganised and at times very slow. It was clear that the staff needed training (or more to the point the management).

Sadly we won’t be returning to Raffles Doha.

5. Hamad International Airport

2024-08-31T05:04:00.004-04:00

Today we leave Doha and head to Nairobi. Breakfast is even more chaotic, they have no idea. Anyway we have a late checkout so head to the pool for a final dip before finishing the packing and head to the airport.

Qatar business lounge is impressive, a whole floor and no one in it. Custom sandwiches and beer. I only wonder what the first lounge would be like, it can be any better.

The five hour and twenty minute flight to Nairobi is uneventful. We will be met by Tanzania Horizon Safari at the airport to be taken to the Four Point Sheraton.

Update

On arrival we didn’t have a visa so were taken to one side were they helped us process such visa. This immigration team must the best ever, they were so help and kind. We had issues with selfies and uploads but they helped us all the way.

Outside we were met by Daniel and driven to the hotel by a great guy who taught us a few Swahili words. At the Hotel Maria discovered that she left her eyeglasses on the plane. Daniel helped to contact Qatar Air but to no avail. I, with difficulty, applied for Tanzania visas but am unhopeful as to whether they will be processed in time. It does say that visa can be obtained on arrival, which is what I always understood.

Late night, in bed at 02:30.

4. Museum of Illusions

2024-08-31T04:56:00.018-04:00

The usual chaotic breakfast and back to the pool before heading off to the Gate Mall and the Museum of Illusions.

Well it was what its name is, an illusion, not worth the money, time nor space.

Luckily, saving the day we find a nice Italian restaurant, Cocina, at the Marriott Marquis by the City Mall. Great food and service. Great dinner.

A quick walk around the city mall before heading back and straight to bed.

3. National Museum of Qatar

2024-08-31T04:55:00.020-04:00

Up just before 9 and down to breakfast to be looked after by Abdul who looked after us yesterday. Breakfast is similar to yesterday, yogurts, fruit, toast, cornflakes, bread (gluten and gluten free), tea and the delicious mint and lemon drink.

Back upstairs to,change and to the Aqua pool. A beautiful infinity pool basking in 43c heat. The air temperature is so hot that three times a day they add large blocks of ice to the pool. Afternoon siesta score heading of to the NMoQ. This wonderful architectural detail houses the history of Qatar. Two hours of education is plenty before heading to the souk to take in its delights again. There are various areas; perfumes, jewellery, musical, men’s clothing, women’s clothing and the pet area!

Dinner is again at the Royal Indian, hey if you like it you like it!

A Turkish ice cream before heading back to the hotel 36th floor.

2. Souk Wafiq

2024-08-31T04:55:00.017-04:00

Relaxing morning waking at just before 9, TV not working but who needs a television when you wake up,to the scimitar, Arabian Sea and sun. Ok, it, is a little hazy, but with this heat by the coast, no wonder!

Breakfast is not where we were told, it is in the Aqua Restaurant on the second floor. The start is chaotic but Adil, who has worked in London can to the rescue, no Weetabix though!

Adul, hats and gives a helpful little, run down of the city, etc.

We head back to the room and have a post breakfast sit down before taking a taxi to the Jedine Mall to buy some sunscreen. All was good except that the taxi driver went the wrong way and ended up on some building site before we helped him find his way. Fair dues though as he only charged us 15 Ryl, but this was a problem as we had no cash and his card machine didn’t work!

An expensive mall where Maria had an expensive lunch, I had McDonalds!

At around 6 we head off to the Souk and take in the flavours of Doha among its alleys and shops. We come across the ‘golden thumb’ and wonder its meaning?

Doha has a strong trading history and is between the East and West, so its food is varied. We find an Indian restaurant the Royal Indian and not being the adventurous type eat here. It was a good choice!

Back to the hotel and the 36th floor post dinner drinks and off the bed.

1. Safari - 2024 Business to Doha

2024-08-27T11:28:00.004-04:00

Transit from Lhr T5 to T4 takes about 16 minutes, but then we follow muppets at security etc. who delay us 20 minutes unpacking and repacking bags, only for them to be bag searched on the other side. One could forgive them if this there first time travelling, but they have just come through transit!

Anyway I was muppet and sat in the wrong seat, no harm done! Movies watched were Bezos (good story, probably not the best film, and The boys in a boat, good story and good film, highly recommend. Journey was pleasant and staff attentive.

Quick clearance through immigration and bag claim, airport was quiet. 20 min journey to hotel costing 68 riyal.

Fabulously large room, however it does has issues, too much technology and you MUST not turn the TV off by the remote pwr button.

A quick snack in the Italian restaurant; pizza with cottage cheese and off to bed after working out how to turn all the lights out.

Garmin GTN™ 750Xi | Touchscreen Flight Navigator Checklists for Cirrus SR22 and Robinson R66

2023-08-22T09:08:00.010-04:00

Below I attach Garmin GTN™ 750Xi | Touchscreen Flight Navigator Checklist for the Cirrus SR22 and Robinson R66.

Use of checklists is at users own risk, at all times the Official Pilot Operators Handbook should be consulted.

The following files need to be added to the route files of relevant GTN SD cards (this incudes any Flighstream Card in use). The files are .ace files and need relevant software to view. The editor can be downloaded from Garmin here:

SR22 GTN Checklist

R66 GTN Checklist

Bay of Biscay - Prison Boat Bluejay Conclusion

2022-10-28T08:02:00.005-04:00

Draft 1

Conclusion

Was it worth it? Not really sure!

Did I learn anything? Not really (well that is with regards sailing anyway, which is a shame as I have a lot to learn). However the skip didn’t really make an atmosphere conducive to learning, and didn’t allow us to make our own decisions and mistakes.

We should have been allowed to skipper the boat / sail the boat at some time during the second half. We should have been allowed to pass the instructions to our fellow crew members thus really could have been done on our rostered navigation days and thus really would have allowed us to learn and gain confidence, instead all we did was follow orders and be quietly barked at, admonished when we were unable to follow them either immediately or quickly enough or due to inclement weather. I cannot be sure but I genuinely believe that this is why one original crew member left on arrival at Gijón (he had skipped to watch shifts after being admonished on his last watch), and I have a lot of sympathy for him, this is not what we paid up for.

In many ways it reminded me of school, there was the “in” crowd and then the others (I was one of the others). Unfortunately this scenario was generally created and led by the skip and was very much in evidence at the proverbial last supper.

In earlier posts I referred it to a prison boat (and u wasn’t alone, if only in jest). The trip was made up of two halves. The passage to Gijón which involved watch shifts and due to weather and the fact that all paying crew were new to the boat clearly required leadership. Instructions were given but leadership and a calm head was probably lacking from the right place. I understand that this may have been everyone’s first crossing of the Bay of Biscay, but frustration with in experienced crew members was unnecessary and simple just wrong.

The second halve was daily sailing alone the northern coast of Spain and could and should have been a time for each crew member to learn and gain confidence. This didn’t happen on BJ, but it did seem to happen on the other boats. I admit I withdrew towards the end but it is only because I felt more of an hindrance than an asset. I have to commend members of the “in” group and generally the others in sticking with it and as the saying goes “the more you put in the more you get out”, I hope this truly happened, but I am not sure that this was the case for all, but I hope it was for some.

Back to my prison boat, there seemed to be a lot of pointless hauling and pulling for little if zero gain! Tasks / jobs would be repeated inefficiencies were rife; pointless anchoring outside suitable marinas to the extent that we would sailing further than required.

I have no problem with anchoring in a nice bay and sleeping under the night sky in a pleasant and secluded spot, but I do get irritated when it it just seems to be a money trousering exercise and unnecessary.

We could have made A Coruña probably two days early (and on the Monday I did point out that the weather on Tuesday was suitable, which I still believe was, only to be abjectly put down in front of the whole crew, this was my tipping point; I have 30 years of weather experience through aviation and there was no need to be so abrasive, arrogant and rude), and yes it would have meant an early end, but that is weather for you! But in the end we didn’t yet we did not make the best of this added time, this added time could and again should have been time to teach and learn.

So what did I learn? Probably that paid group sailing is not for me, having said that I am a glutton for punishment and I can still see myself being on another prison ship in the future. I also learnt that sailors surprisingly do not like wind. Sailors also seem to relish living and sleeping in the same clothes for days in end, they only eat stews and pasta, and because they are at see generally believe that these dishes should always contain fish or some kind of see food. They also seem to think that every job is worth repeating and the more inefficient things are the better.

Did I enjoy it? Well it was an experience.

Finally, a big thank you to Dimitry and my fellow crew members, they were solid and were all a pleasure to meet and be with. I look forward to the video, even if the out takes are less than flattering (especially after these posts, but I have to say it as it is, as Megan would say “it is my truth”).

As I cannot sign off on that I have to say happy passages and happy trails to all!

Bay of Biscay - part 4 (the prison boat)

2022-10-28T07:12:00.001-04:00

Wednesday

Today we make a long sail to Sada which is further than A Coruña yet is an inlet before it. It dawns on me that the reason why we are anchoring here is so the paid crew can save on harbour fees which they probably trouser for themselves. If this isn’t the reason then I just don’t get it.

The sail is approximately 9 to 10 hours and ends up being a “race” at which our boat BlueJay is soundly beaten by both Oriale and Starling. Surely it had nothing to do with feint tacks which destroyed any momentum that BJ had and reduced our speed to 0kts. But I guess that is the gamble you take with well planned tactics.

Pleasant surprise of fish fingers and ice cream tonight followed by another game of Russian fool. Thanks crew!

10 to bed with thunder and lightning in the air.

Thursday

Short sail and motor to the marina with a stop for fuel. Today Linda and I are on cleaning duty which we dutifully do to only find out that it would all be done again at the dock. At the dock the rope locker is emptied of all items which are then promptly put back. For a moment I thought I was in a Monty Python sketch (the one with the ministry of useless jobs). However I realised that we are actually on prison boat and that I would have to retrieve my passport and make a run for it.

So that is exactly what I did! Bags packed early and having retrieved my passport before it could be sold I said my goodbyes to the team. Generally they have all been good team with probably only one exception and he barely looked up from his phone on my departure (he was probably pleased to see me go, even if he didn’t ask if I had my passport).

So if to the NH hotel and a luxurious jacuzzi bath and comfortable bed with actual sheets, I have found heaven.

Meet up with the crew if all three boats for dinner and found out that I was not the only one to think I had been in a prison boat nor was I the only one to question why we would anchor outside a perfect good marina only to go to the marina the following day. Fun times were had dinner and final farewells made.

Bay of Biscay - part 3

2022-10-25T08:28:00.013-04:00

Monday

Not in the best of moods today, literally got out of the wrong side of the bunk, and there is only one side, (not helped by discovering that the Shreddies I bought where frosted; damn Nestlé make the boxes different), which makes sailing to a beach just outside a marina to which we will dock in the following morning seem all the more nonsensical to me. There seems to be a lot of effort expended for little gain!

Anyway the crew seem to have fun racing

with Starling, and it actually was, whilst in the cabin we keeled over 90° and were thus able to see the local fish through the cabin port hole. We also smelt what Helena was convinced was an Orca!

We made it into the beach first and Starling docked alongside and to us. We are such an accommodating boat.

The ribs were deployed so that some crew could have a 10 min paddle - lots of effort for little gain again! (although Alex did manage to get some good video).

White rice and ice cream for dinner followed by a Russian card game called ‘fool’. No surprise who the fool was then.

Early night - in the bunk by 21:30.

Tuesday

So we now head to the Marina where we can freshen up, shower etc. Couldn’t we have done this yesterday evening? I like the boat and have no issues being on board at sea overnight, but if there are facilities nearby, why not use them?

So as there is a little wind today approximately 13 to 16kts in the afternoon we will be staying in the Marina. I guess sailors aren’t too keen on the wind.

Supposedly tomorrow is going to be better 7 to 12kts with a strong possibility of drizzle etc (don’t get me started on the 10nm detour to another beach cove - I do hope it is pretty etc.).

So we moor the boat and take the rib engine back on board for less than salubrious shower facilities, but hey they are showers with bathrooms and I can get some laundry done nearby.

Meanwhile three of the crew are off to the fish market to prepare for a fish dinner.

Currently 15:30 local and calm, let’s hope it stays that way, Coruña 17kts gusting 30kt from the south.

Back to boat to prepare tomorrow’s navigation. Points covered:

From - to
Distance
Tidal heights (secondary port)
Tidal stream (negligible)
Route compass cardinal points
Dangers on passage - actions to avoid
Communications en-route
Ports of refuge
Weather forecast
Pilotage (negligible will not be taking any shortcuts, etc., heading to beach via mid-channel).

Linda was / is a star and made sure that all the bases were hit.

PS to be written later.

Resting before dinner at 20:00

In Cha bola which is more like a playground than an eatery. Pleasant staff though and food was good.

Watching the RBL v RML game at Meson Lodeiro. RBL currently 2:1 up. Time to move on. Hey that is a time stamp 58:00 mins in.

Bay of Biscay - 2

2022-10-23T13:35:00.007-04:00

Please see a

Friday

Breakfast done (bacon - hooray!) we start a new rota, myself and Linda carry out the IWOBBLED check on the engine.

Set sail at around 12:30 having completed the three S’s

We sail to Artedo where we hone are incredible sailing skills.

We anchor in Artedo, a pretty little cove with an ugly two tier road bridge overhead.

“Dinner” is again served - not too bad some kind of vegetarian stew with white rice.

Saturday

Breakfast of Sugar Puffs and then straight off to Ribadeo at 10:30. Another fine day of sailing had by the now well oiled crew!

Today Lind and myself are the boats Chefs. We amaze the crew with a comfort food lunch of Ham and Cheese Toasties - a truly superb dish!

After a reasonable adventurous sail we dock in Ribadeo where Linda and myself again stun everyone with a fabulous cat food stew (Tuna, pasta and the usual tomato source tin). So good that there is a rush for seconds before a birthday cake is brought out for the Helena, the birthday girl.

I have my own dinner at Don Buchi. Pizza was nearly as good as my cat food stew.

Back to boat after dinner

Sunday

Up early and head out to check the shower block and then back to boat for Shreddies and back to bed.

When all the pAying crew are out I carry out my rota duty and clean the heads (great stuff to be doing on a trip). Capitain and first mate are busy working away so I am unable to hoover the accommodation areas, galley and rest area.

Head out to shower after cleaning and then back to read the papers and chilax to my iPods music.

Linda returns fro town and informs me that she also cleaned the heads and proceeds to hoover the interior of the boat? and clean the galley (we had cleaned it last night after cooking)?

Helena and Matt make “dinner” tonight Lemon Chicken (you guessed it STEW). Smells good and looks as if care is being taken.

Anyhow I head out to get dinner at Don Buchi’s, I have to wait till 20:00. While waiting Matt turns up, guess he is not as confident with his cooking abilities as me!

Pizza eaten, and it was a good one again, we head back to the boat, on returning we bump into the crew of BlueJay and Sartling at a bar nearby, here we have a few scoops and I meet a fellow old school boy (of course no longer a boy) Charles Robinson) who new my brother.

Finally back to the boat climbing the fence to get on board.

Bay of Biscay - Rubicon 3

2022-10-20T12:21:00.018-04:00

Sailing log

Left Monday at 14:00 BST o. BlueJay Clipper 57 (60ft)

Crew:

Ollie

Dimitry

Me (top bunk starboard)

Helena

Simon ( below me)

Rene

Dave aka Matt (California)

Ian

Val

Linda (Austin, Tx)

Alex (videographer)

Watch shifts

Alpha

Helena

Rene

Bravo

Linda

Ian

Dave

Charlie

Val

Alex

Simon

3 hours in 6 off

We started at 18:00 hrs (?)

Nice sailing

Tuesday

Woke to force 8 sailing

Hard to helms

But learnt a lot

People are sick and unwell.

I manage but have my moments.

Better on deck than in the galley.

Tried the pork stew stuff. Hhmmmm

Wednesday

An amazing roll cloud

Followed by big squalls

Another tough days sailing.

At the end of the day had the veggie stew???

Today it was a starboard tack so sleeping was difficult (not help by a bird in the cabin - I thought someone was flaking the Yankee sail!!!)

Thursday

On the 12:00 to 03:00 shift early morning (again great Milky Way, but alas no dolphins today due to pinger as we have crossed the continent shelf and Ollie is apprehensive of Orcas, fairly enough)

Helmsman for the full 3 hrs into port handing over to Ollie to dock.

Docked at 03:30 hrs

Up at 10:00 Spanish time bacon breakfast, passport control and shower, and laundry!

Clean down boat and then lunch and a few beers

Unfortunately Renee had a fall during the force 8 wind and hurt his back and has decided to leave the boat at Gijón.

Walk around town, then return to boat.

In the evening we all head out for dinner in town, I have typical Spanish fair of some kind of grey thin beef - neither roast nor steak, thank goodness I had a proper Angus beef hamburger for lunch.

After dinner Matt and myself pop into a bar for a few beers. To be honest these beers must be strong and I feel more than tipsy, anyway evening down we head back to the boat for a well earned rest.

Matt & Maria’s Trip to Sri Lanka 2018 - Part 4

2018-12-29T08:44:00.000-05:00

Day 10 - 21st December 2018 - The Tooth Relic, British Garrison Cemetery and Kandy Botanical Gardens

08:00 for The Tooth Relic; here a Tooth recovered from Buddha’s cremation pyre is preserved having been sent over from India by the king with the prince. Sumi manages to find a perfect parking spot and shows us the temple, providing us with interesting information. School is out so there are plenty of families with young kids and babies as well as school holiday trips; but we’re here in good time and beat most of the crowds. Maria manages to have her photograph with a monk who has been in service since 1995 as well as a load of kids. The temple and its surroundings are great but we never did see that allusive Tooth.

Before picking up the car we headed to the British Garrison Cemetery and walked amongst the graves and headstones of young colonialists who died mainly from jungle fever. The average age in the cemetery was around 27 years. The first

resident was a captain who fought in the battle of Waterloo. A young lad in his late teens is the cemetery caretaker, and he shows us around. He knowledge of each and every grave and headstone was impressive.

On the way back to the car Maria gets her shopping head on and trots of to buy 3 tops at bargain prices.

Finally, after our little shopping diversion Sumi drives us to the Botanical Gardens where we take in the suspension brigde, orchid house and more; Here we had a relaxing couple of hours away from the hurly-burley of Kandy life.

Back to the hotel for a snooze, no sun this afternoon, just rain and then dinner.

Day 10 - 22nd December 2018 - Train to Neweru Eliya and the Grand Hotel

The previous night Sumi phoned us a 22:00 hrs to let us know that he managed to book us on the train to Nanu Oya, a station just 20 minutes from our next stop. Our tour was meant to include this trip in the observation cart, but it had always been stated that there was a possibility that we may not be able to get tickets; for me this was just a rouse, we booked our trip in April so they should have managed to get tickets for December, anyhow Sumi managed it for us, good old Sumi.

Of course this meant another early start and the trip would be 4 hrs, so once again we have to drag ourselves out of bed, Sumi gets us some bananas for the journey.

We arrive at the station looking forward to our trip only to be notified that the train was going to depart 30 mins late, during this wait we are approached by a government questionnaire who ask us were we are going, why and what tickets we have purchased. Sumi explains all for the survey and it is here that he informs us that we have second class seats, he also let’s it be known that he had bought regular tickets just in case we hadn’t managed to secure any seats; once again a sterling job by Sumi, but I did let him know that we normally travel first class and besides surely the observation cart is first class. He reassures us that all is good.

When the train arrives over an hour late, this is not Switzerland , we enter near the back, this is a possible place for an observation cart, especially if the seats are rear facing as expected. Our cart however doesn’t seem to match my idea of an observation cart, it does however match my idea of a third class carriage, which strangely enough is what the sign says; third class reserved which now seems to match the seat allocation on the ticket TCR 3 & TCR 4.

Not first class and not an observation cart, our seats are however rear facing! Rear facing seats in a third class cart mean that you really get to see nothing; oh well at least Sumi secured us seats, which is way more than Walkers Tours did.

We were sat next to a cute family who did their best to highlight places on enroute, this even after I had opened a bottle of coke with volcanic effect all over the daughter.

I managed to get some pictures of the tea plantations, landscapes and waterfalls, but my best pictures were of the stations name plates. It is really difficult to take pictures on a train when your back is in the direction of travel and you are seated on the mountain side of the carriage.

Even though we didn’t manage to get great photos it was fun to experience a Sri Lankan train ride and we are happy that Sumi sorted it out for us. On arrival at Nanu Oya we meet Sumi, his journey had taken about 2 hours compared to our 4 (tell me again why we took the train). Anyway Sumi took us to our hotel. The Grand Hotel is a magnificent old colonial building well over 150 years old with old colonial charm. At the entrance we are greeted by gold braided uniformed staff and offered tea. Our room is sorted out and we head up to it. On opening the door we see that they have given us twin beds, Maria is not happy, even though we are only staying for one night. When I take a look at the room card it actually states another name, not ours, so we ask to be moved to our properly allocated room. Eventually they find us a another room, this room is in the older part of the hotel and has groovey furniture and a small bathroom, this room surely is not deluxe, we complain. To our satisfaction our complaining seems to work as we our upgraded to a junior suite with an on hand butler, Anil, that’s better.

Again, the hotel is magnificent and serves high tea at 15:30 hrs. We actually decided against high tea; why spend a fortune on tea and cream cakes when you will not eat the cream cakes, instead we have a late lunch. It is here that I had scrumptious tandoori wraps and Maria a club sandwich served by Sanjuana who would look after very well more than once.

Today is full moon day so no alcohol served today. Full moon days are poya days and alcohol and live beings are not allowed to be sold, almost all hotels observe the rule on alcohol but not on live beings, I.e. meat 🥩, hence I managed to get chicken tandoori wraps.

After a small rest I dress for dinner put on a jacket, it states jackets are required for dinner, and I check out if the hotel does indeed observe poya days. Indeed it does as no beer is availableI in the billiards room. With no Lion lager on offer I meet Maria and we take a look at what is on offer in the dining room. Looking inside we notice that poya days may be observed by the hotel but obviously not the jacket rule by the guests, as I am the only one wearing one. It is warm and because we had eaten earlier we decide to take a walk instead of heading having dinner. As we approach the Grand Indian, part of the hotel but a separate building slightly down the road from the main hotel it starts to pour. The downpour doesn’t hide the great smells emanating from the Indian but it does curtail our walk. Instead of getting soaked we head back and decide to just have a dessert and head up to our junior suite.

With an early night we look forward to our 7 hour car journey tomorrow to The Fortess Hotel, our last port of call. The dogs outside however decided that an early night would be too good for us and decided to howl, bark and heaven knows what for most of the night.

Day 11 - 23rd December 2018 - road trip to Galle

We have breakfast, buy a hopper pan, and pick up our pre ordered pack lunches and head south. About 30 mins out we visit a tea plantation and factory were we learn about tea ☕️: black tea, green tea and white tea, we do not learn about coffee. This was quite a fun stop and we both left happy. For the next hour we drive the winding road to a viewing stop to try our luck at yet more landscape photography, still struggling here, but I later discover that a polarised lens would help. Our viewing stop was also the home to a great wood craft shop which had some superb items, all way to big and expensive though.

Our next stop is an unscheduled stop for a drink and relief. Next, about 6 hours later we stopped at the motorway service station, this was well timed as all people concerned were tired, and Sumi who was driving, seriously needed a red bull while I headed of to Pizza Hut, yum!

Some 8 hours after leaving The Grand Hotel we arrived at The Fortress. The Fortress is the most impressive hotel so far, situated on the coast with spectacular views over the Indian Ocean. The view from our room is stunning and the room is beautiful. The Fortress is a boutique hotel with excellent service. Sunset is at exactly 18:00 hrs and it is amazing, I manage to capture it with my best ever sunset photos.

Tired, exhausted but looking forward to a few days rest we have dinner; chicken tikka for me and buttered chicken for Maria before cocktails and bed.

Day 12 - 24th December 2018 - Christmas Eve Gala night & Galle Forte

A lie in at last, breakfast at 09:00 hrs then to the pool 🏊‍♂️. We sit by the pool facing the rolling waves of the Indian Ocean 🇮🇳 🌊. The skies are clear and the sun is out. The pool attendants look after us, finding us a couple of deckchairs not already reserved by the Germans. A couple of hours by the pool is enough on our first day of relaxation and we are already turning a dark shade of pink. Best not to over do it.

So in the afternoon we grab a three wheeler / tuk-tus into Galle Fort for some late Christmas shopping. Maria points out a dress so I seek off and try to buy it. I soon become frustrated by some french shoppers taking there time at the till. The shop attendants weren’t helping either. Finally I get to pay, but instead of charging my card in Sri Lankan Rupees they change the card in GBP. I ask them to correct this error, but the insist that the cards is being charged in LRPs, I beg to differ, tell them they can keep the dress and walk off empty handed. Later me and Maria split up in another shop where I find a great dress for her and managed to buy this one. Having purchased the dress I look for Maria who is not to be found. After waiting at the shop for 30mins I finally decide I should phone her and discover that she is lost but at the National Maritme Museum. So off I trot to find her and make our way back to the awaiting tuk-tuk.

Back at the hotel we get ready for the evening gala dinner. The dining area has been kitted out in Christmas decorations and Santa has arrived by bike to provide presents to the kids. Dinner comprises of turkey 🦃 etc. along with a bottle of Champagne 🍾. We meet a nice German couple who have just arrived plus chat with some ex pats living in Russia as well a the Smurf lady who we met the previous evening. Bedtime was late for us at a heady 00:00 hrs. We have had a good day.

Day 13 - Boxing / St. Stephens day - unlucky for some.

We wake up to find that Santa had been, unfortunately for Maria Santa thought she was 6 ft tall and her dress was way to long. I got a fab Sri Lankan holiday shirt (Santa was better with my sizing).

Throughout the trip I have been suffering quietly in pain (related to the medical discovery on the 14th). Today however things seemed a bit worse and Maria said that I looked in more pain than previously and looked a bit ashen. So after breakfast Maria calls for the local doctor who arrives at 10:15 hrs (arranged by the hotel superbly). The doctor check me out and suggest that I see a surgeon 👨‍⚕️.

The surgeon arranges for me to be admitted at the Asiriya Hospital at 14:00 hrs. We grab some rays before departing by taxi (a Tuk-tuk would too uncomfortable). The admittance to hospital is swift, blood pressure normal, medical history handed over and deposit paid (50,000 lkr). We were led to a private room with a/c and a tv, one patient bed and one guardian bed, all reasonable impressive, not first world stuff but better than feared. The tv’s only English Channel was BBC World service and the news of the day was that Japan was to start commercial whaling again; ironic really as we were meant to be on a whale sight seeing Trip the following day, Thursday.

While I preparing for the operation I found out what it must be like to be a new inmate being doused for lice and hosed down, must have been on of the most humiliating experiences of my short life. Ho-hum this is an adventure vacation after all!

Having been humiliated, hosed down, bare and disinfected Maria what to the fort to change her dress, well at least the taxi ride into town wasn’t waisted. We were told surgery would be around 19:00 hrs. 19:00 hrs passed and went. At around 21:00 hrs Maria decide that she would now stay the night with me in the guardians bed. Love 💖 her loads. While waiting staff popped in and out, some even tried to feed me even though I was nil-by-mouth 👄. I think most of the staff were just wanting to see a handsome white guy in pain and practice English; everybody was however very friendly and helpful. Since I had only recently had blood test in November I offered the results to the instead of having new set carried out, this eventually proved harder than anticipated when there computer network would not accept the email containing the results. Eventually all was sorted out through screen shots and the use of a private email address.

At 23:15 hrs I am taken to the pre surgery area. Here I wait while in front of me I watch 4 hospital staff reattached a mans dressings and stitches that appeared to have become unstuck since surgery; really what in need to watch. 20 or so mins later I am taken to another pre surgery area where I am asked to lay on a gurney, the linen on the gurney looked as if it had not been changed for a few prior surgeries, covered in sweat 😓 stains etc. I am really beginning to get nervous 😬! I say a few prayers and decide that after all the humiliation endured that it is too ,ate to back out now, beside I am in real pain. At around just after 12:00 hrs I enter theatre and see the surgeon for the first time and remind him what area need attention. I opt for ful anaesthetic as oppose to a spinal injection. Just before I dose off I hear surgery utensils crash to the floor, I hope the floor is cleaner than the previous rooms and linen. The last words from the surgeon were think of good things.

At around 00:30 hrs I wake up, where I am assessed and taken back to the awaiting Maria. My wound hasn’t closed so they stitch it in front of Maria with shed loads of blood poring all over the room etc. In pain and agony I grit my teeth a thump the pillow in the knowledge that Maria will make sure all is good. Uncomfortable 😣, tired and down I drift off to sleep. Sleep 💤 of course is disturb for all concerned by the hourly blood pressure and O2 saturation check.

Day 14 - 27th December 2018 - Discharge day.

Finally get some food at around 07:30 hrs (last food and water was the previous day at 10:00 hrs). Breakfast was dry bread and butter and a really disgusting milky sugar sry tea; to be truly honest I am not sure it was tea, it may have been Horlicks or something, Maria was allowed to make her own tea but I was not.

My dressing had leaked during the night so needed replacing. Maria headed back to the hotel to fetch phone chargers, toilette paper (there was not paper nor towels in the room), toothbrush and other essentials or a stay. I also told her to have a proper breakfast and catch some rays, I wouldn’t doing much this morning.

While she was away they removed my stitches and re dressed the wound. I have know idea what they were thinking but they redressed the wound in the most ridiculous fashion. Let it be said that not a lot could be done and I removed the dressing within an hour. Dressingless and in pain I prayed and waited for Maria’s return. On her return she instructed the staff on how the wound should be dressed, much better!

Maria paid the bill (another 200,000 lkrs or so) and I was instructed on my pill regime (not easy, but at least the labelling is pretty efficient, stating time of day and whether before meals or after meals).

Before leaving Mafaz visits, which embossing was welcome. We were hoping to spend more time with Mafaz prior to the change in plans. Even though Mafaz was not used he was always an anchor to hold on to. Thanks Mafaz!

We head back to the hotel via tuk-tuk arranged by Maria. This three wheeler driver was a smooth ride and he was very considerate to much condition.

Arriving at the hotel all staff ask after me and wish me well. While changing my dressing we stain the bed linen, but the hotel are real troops and sort things out! Dinner was appreciated tonight followed by an early night, we both go out like a light 💡!

Day 15 - 28th December 2018 - visit from Mafaz and family

Having taken a truck load of pills we wake up, me feeling groggy but in less pain, so all good. Breakfast flowed by redressing, and some sun; even the pool attendants check how I am!

At 14:00 hrs Mafaz visits with his wonderful wife and three children. We have drink and say cheerio 👋 . I will, catch up with Mafaz in January.

Amanda and Andy (Amanda from the St Giles flower shop arrive).

Maria take a three wheeler (tuk -tuk is to difficult to write with auto correct on) to the pharmacy and tries to buy some more supplies before meeting me back at the hotel for sunset.

Further changes of dressing and a buffet dinner before bed 🛌.

Day 16 - 29th December 2018 - I think things are in the mend

Still have a few wound leakages but I think things are in the mend. Maybe this episode is coming to an end and I can start sorting out the elbow!

Lazy day by the pool, Maria heads of to shop with Amanda and get some more items from the pharmacy, love 💕 her!

Had some good news today but that is for tomorrow’s entry.

Now have bad news, my medical issue seems to be back!

Matt & Maria’s Trip to Sri Lanka 2018 - Part 3

2018-12-21T07:38:00.000-05:00

Day 6 - 17th December 2018 - Dambulla / Dambulla Caves

08:00 pickup today, so check out early and meet our “guide” / driver Sumi in his old Toyota. If the Toyota has suspension then Sumi & myself use most of it, and Maria’s packing the rest. Sumi’s a decent guy and provides us with some information on our way out of Colombo. He also lets slip that Walker’s Tours had indeed forgotten us and he was pulled in at the last moment.

Enroute we stop of for tea at side road cafe and are treated to some halapa, which was very sweet, too sweet for me. However we probably needed this after having been repeatedly driven off the road (literally) by trucks and government red buses!

Our second stop (after a total of 4hrs driving) is the Dambulla caves, were I changed in to long pants (trousers) for a 300 step hike. Here we encounter our first real monkeys 🐒 (Mekak).

The hike didn’t cause any real issues and we both arrived at the top ready to remove our footwear. Me being a cheapskate decide not to pay the 25 Rps and placed my shoes 👞 in an open area.

The caves were impressive; “dead” Buddhas, sleeping 😴 Buddhas, roof art etc. Another chance to experiment with my camera 📷, and we found a theme for our photos, “peek-a-bool”. On returning to pick our shoes the had disappeared, only to have been gathered up by the attendants, so I still had to pay my 25 Rps each.

Back down to meet Sumi and off to the hotel around the corner. Dambulla is a central city where the central fruit market is situated. It is here were the prices are set for the fruit for the whole country, it is a 24 hour market and city.

Hotel check in is smooth, but Sumi advice's us not to use the hotel safe! To the room, 15 min rest and of to the pool for some rays (not stingrays - fish or drink). At 16:15 I have enough sun, but also the buffalo appear, so I head to the bar for some lion beer and buffalo watching while Maria snores by the pool. The buffalo 🐃 are great and provide a real treat by wading across the lake. The big problem is that I do not have the camera 📷.

End up chatting to some old fella at the bar!

Back to room, bath, dinner, bed 🛏.

Day 7 - 18 December 2018 - Polonnaruwa / Eco National Park & ELEPHANTS

After a good kip and 08:30 start (Sumi originally said our starts would be 10:30) we head of to the Polonnaruwa ruins, circa 12 century ruins. After a good snooze on the way we see some ruins, take artful photos and head off to lunch. The ruins are great, just dated (highly recommended though, especially if you want to walk around stupa’s in bare feet 🦶 🦶,or socks 🧦 🧦 in our case).

Lunch takes us to a paddy field for vegetarian curry of mutilated chicken curry. Touristy, naff, but pleasant. Maria manages to get some fab pictures of me here.

Now for the good stuff, elephants 🐘. On the way to Polonnaruwa we saw our first elephant 🐘 eating / bathing in a small lake. For us this was exciting. On our return from Polonnaruwa we encountered more elephants along the road. These guys almost grabbed Maria, but thought better of it! Real close encounter.

To pick up our safari guide we head of to the Cinnamon Lodge hotel, were we meet Shanta. Shanta speaks good English and is a great guide. He eagerly points out birds 🦅 etc (to our surprise we find out that we our not twitchers nor are we ornithologists). It is not long before the big guys turn up. A couple are spotted in the bush and we head off around behind them getting away from other jeeps on he safari. We have a number of different encounters finding a month old with mother as well as a herd of over 30. The elephants were majestic but the humans not so much. Jeeps would box the elephants in and follow along too closely. Our driver / ranger was a bit more considerate and keep respectful distance.

Overall the experience was awesome!

Back too the hotel after dark and we head for dinner and a drink.

Day 8 - 19th December 2018 - Sigiriya Rock (Lions Rock) / Batik “factory”

07:00 start today to make the 1302 to 1502 step climb to the top of Sigiriya rock. Having made my medical discovery on Saturday, I feel that I am capable and head of enthusiastically. While I climb the rock Maria is going to pamper herself with a massage and traditional Sri Lankan treatments and heads of to Suwa Madre and meets Deepa.

Arrive at Sigiriya at 08:00 and it is already becoming busy, so I head of straight away without dwadling. It is a descent climb along narrow steps, cliff edge ramps, spiral stair cases and steep inclines (all in days work for me though). The Lions paws near the top are impressive and really the only items remaining of note. The view from the topics also impressive, even when a little misty.

15 to 20 minutest the top and back down. In the carpark by 09:30 waiting for Maria and Sumi to pick me up. They will not be around to 11:00 so I have time to rest and watch the mekak, also buy some pajama pants for 1,000 Rps bartered down from 1,750 Rps (still overpaid though).

Sumi duly arrives at 11:00 and of we head to the Batik “factory”, otherwise known as a tourist shopping stop. We listen to the information before they try to sell us overpriced priced garments, needless to say we left empty handed.

Since we had an early start we managed to get back to the hotel for a few rays in the sun during the afternoon. We were also hoping to catch the buffalo again, bit of course when the camera is ready the buffalo 🐃 are not.

Day 9 - 20th December 2018 Enroute to Kandy via Spice Garden and Silk “Factory”

Today it is an 08:00 start (what happen the sensible 10:30 starts Sumi mentioned). Anyway we leave Dumballa and head towards Kandy with me snoozing in the back. About 40 mins out from Kandy we visit the Spice Garden where we meet Ayesh our friendly local herbal doctor. Ayesh does a great job of explaining all the wonders of the herbal lotions,oils and pills along with a back massage for the two of us that we leave fully laden having spent a small fortune for all our aches and pains (in three months nobody will recognise us, we will be so fit, youthful and radiant). Some shopping trips do work!

The next one doesn’t, but Altea St we had photos in a sari and sarong, again prices were to high at the silk “factory”. Lunch after the factory was also a bit poor.

Our hotel is only 20 minutes down the road and we check in. The Cinnamon Citadel is ok but the poorest of the hotels so far. Dinner is tricky but doable.

Matt & Maria’s Trip to Sri Lanka 2018 - Part 2

2018-12-21T06:15:00.000-05:00

Day 4 - 15th December 2018 - Pettah Market, Colombo

A great nights sleep results in us missing breakfast, so we grab an early curry lunch before heading of to the Pettah Market district. We grab an Uber for 265 SrRps (about £1.30) for a 15 minute ride. Enroute we drive past several hotel construction sites, JW Marriot, Hyatt, and ITC Hotels among them. In short few years the landscape of Colombo will be very different.

Uber drops us of in the Pettah Market district were we become immersed among the crowds and melt into the chaotic atmosphere. Anything can be bought here, but we are drawn to the spices, peppers and other foodstuffs. There still seems to be a fascination amongst the locals for fair skinned Europeans. A small child is especially fascinated by Maria and reaches out to her, touching her shoulder to check whether she is real.

Having spent a couple of hours wandering the streets and spending 130 SrRps (Less than a £) on a coke and water we head past the Fort railway station and aim for the Hilton to grab an Uber back. Just in front of the Hilton we get a chance to photo a passing train, but this does seem to attract the interest of a gentleman who informs us that there is an elephant 🐘 parade around the corner, that is starting now. Somehow this seams all to convenient; around the corner and starting now!

In the Hilton, one Soy latte and a coke was 1,000 SrRps, 10 times our previous refreshment. The hotel looks d and is in a good location.

Our Uber drops us of near our hotel at a supermarket. This supermarket is not a European supermarket, but a mixture of shops selling your staples, live chickens, previously live chickens and breads etc. Of course on the way back to the hotel Maria must stop off at the mini mall next door.

In our room we make a discovery, but that is for a later date.

Tonight we meet Mafaz Ishaq and his wife pick us up at the Movenpick and take us for a superb meal at the The Gallery Cafe Restaurant. It was great to catch up with my old school buddy and meet his wife over a good old stake.

Day 5 - 16th December 2018 - Temples of Colombo

Morning by the roof top pool before grabbing the hotel car to take us on city drive. First stop was the Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple where you will find a stuffed elephant amongst thousands of Buddhas, both big and small. This is a working temple and museum, but parts of it resemble an antique fair.

At the lakeside temple I manage to try some of my photographic skills to great delight and to be honest good effect.

Sri Kailasanatha Swamy Devasthanam Hindu Temple doesn’t open till 4:30 so we drive to independence square and catch a tug of war competition. Pakistan men beat India in the quarter finals. We drive to see the National Museum and Town Hall, both impressive buildings. Two further stops at Galle Face, the local beach and at the old Dutch museum meant that we were ready to see another Temple.

Sri Kailasanatha Swamy Devasthanam Hindu Temple (thank goodness for copy and paste) is a spectacular sight, full of colour and vibrancy. As an added bonus we also came across a Hindu monkey 🐒. For the good photographer this should be a delightful location.

Back at the hotel we grab a bite to eat, and have a cocktail on the roof top looking over the city an ocean.

Matt & Maria's Trip to Sri Lanka 2018

2018-12-16T09:09:00.001-05:00

Day 1 - Wednesday 12th December

Policeman Ray picks us up on-time and takes us to LHR T4 after a few missed turns! T4 is not our preferred terminal but we sit in the Prince of Wales bar until boarding. Our flight to Colombo was with Etihad over two legs and was generally uneventful. Maria had salmon I had chicken.

Day 2 - Thursday 13th December

KY 264 from Abu Dhabi arrived on time into Colombo at 15:35 local time. CIQ (customs, immigration and quarantine) progressed smoothly. After customs we exited to the arrivals terminal to meet our Guide for the next few days. The problem was though, he / she was not there. There was no sign with our name on, there was no tour company sign either (neither Trailfinders nor Walkers Tours). No one was expecting us! Under normal circumstances we would be pretty annoyed, especially as we are tired and jet lagged, but this is the start of an adventure. We asked around and eventually found someone from Walkers Tours (so they said, we never really managed to confirm this). This representative scrambled around on his phone, while I scrambled around on mine. I was phoning Trailfinders, he was phoning somebody, not sure who though. I spoke to Grace, Grace spoke to our new friend, then I spoke to Will, Will spoke to Walkers Tours and eventually we managed to get a ride to our hotel. Our ride was not exactly what I thought I had paid for though. The driver was pleasant but the car could have been better.

We are pleased to say that the Movenpick Hotel was expecting us and upsold us a corner junior suite with use of the executive lounge. The Movenpick is only 18 months old and near the Prime Ministers residence and is a decent city hotel. It is 4 / 5 stars without being over the top. All the staff are great, the room has all you need, as does the hotel; superb roof top infinity pool, four restaurants etc,.

After a few cocktails in the aforementioned executive lounge and a cheese sandwich in bed. of to sleep we went.

Day 3 - Friday 14th December

Lazy day, included breakfast (inclusion was a pleasant surprise) at 10 am. Another call to Trailfinders to explain to Hanna that we would like an explanation for not being met, but more importantly we want confirmation that we will be met on Monday, and we need to know at what time.

This being a lazy day meant that we had a snooze after breakfast before heading to the rooftop pool for some sun and a snack. The pool was cold! but the Jacuzzi was warm :).

After a few rays we head back to our room and of to dinner. To ensure we made use of the up sale we first headed to the executive lounge where we met a Greek fella call Vizaz who told us what to see.

After offering to have dinner with our Greek fella, who kindly declined we headed to the European restaurant Santini's. A quick look at the menu and I (Matthew) decided that we should try elsewhere, and so of to AYU we went.

Good choice! Neapolitan pizza, the new big craze in Jersey has found Colombo. These boys here surely have watched the Grozny You Tube video's. My pizza was delicious and superbly spicey! Maria had a fabulous specially chef prepared buttered chicken and rice (gluten free of course).

So after a jet lag catch up day of to sleep we headed.

Our Last Leg!

2018-08-01T09:18:00.001-04:00

Today is our last leg home. 122 days on the road. We have planed to arrive at Booker for 10am so we set off from Sywell just after 9-ish. The Wx isn't great, typical we must be back in the UK! Peter flies the last leg home and we make a little detour past my brothers house. Dodging a few clouds and keeping the ground beneath us in sight we fly over familiar territory. Booker comes into view, the end is in sight and brings with it mixed emotions.

To the left of the field, the Motorway end we see a gathering of people, it looks as if my family and friends have turn out to greet us. There is a hand made welcome sign and other banners welcoming us back.

We make a couple of loops around the airfield a set DIGA down near our welcome party. Rotors stopped we jump out and I am greeted by a beaming Maria. We hug and kiss before I hug Mum and greet the rest of the family and Fiends. It is a little bit of a teary reunion.

After a few pictures Peter and I empty the Helicopter of our belongings with the help of family etc., place them in our cars and I head of the Cafe with the greeting party for a well earned cuppa.

One thing that does seem to be missing is the publicity, no one turned up; well actually there was on person and she interviewed us at the aero club (upstairs) by ourselves. This is a bit disappointing and makes me wonder why we really delayed in Sywell.

In the Cafe Maria gives me some surprising news. Peter was on the radio this morning with the BBC Chiltern. I knew nothing about it, and Peter did not tell me, I am beginning to see a big picture here! It all seems to be about PW!

Well I have donated enough to the cause and on this news will not be making any further cash donations via Three Journeys Round.

After a few hours Maria drives me home ato say hi to the two dogs and cat, I have really missed them.

Dinner is at an Indian Restaurant near Gemma's and Johns house and most of the Family attend.

It is truly good to be back.

PostScript:

PW really pisses me off again: this time he makes a public thank you to the guys at GASE via the TJR facebook page, specifically omitting me and stating that it is from himself. After sending all previous thank you posts as joint message, why change now! Do I need to remind him and GASE that it was me that sung there praise throughout the world and specifically at AOPA US, while PW never mentioned them in any interviews on our travels!

On well lets not end on a negative.

It was a truly awesome trip and we did it together!

Sunday in Sywell

2017-09-21T11:31:00.000-04:00

We sit Sunday out in Sywell, Lavinia was at a wedding on Saturday, so not back home yet. The official excuse is that we are waiting for the press to meet us at Booker, Wycombe. Well it is a lazy day, but I manage to sweet talk the reception staff and bag a room for the evening of the LAA at the start of October. Not sure exactly how I did this since there is a long waiting list and I am not on it. Peter did not manage to be so lucky.

Dinner is not served on Sundays at the Hotel so we ordered in a Pizza from Dominoes. Yum! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

One last night in a hotel before getting back to my wife, two dogs, cat and my own bed. This will only be short lived though since I am of to Macedonia on Tuesday. What a jet set life!

Wick to Bagby to Sywell

2017-09-21T11:06:00.002-04:00

It is raining, we must be in the UK. Scotland to be precise. This delays our lift off by half an hour. Once off we head out over towards Aberdeen, across 30 miles of water, longer than the channel (possibly we are getting a little blazé about water crossings). We make land again near Cullen passing east of the Cairngorms and onwards to Montrose for our last see crossing. Our final coat in is just north of St Abbs and then past Berwick-upon-Tweed; finally in England!

Our flight takes us west of Newcastle, Durham and Middlesbrough and into the small airport of Bagby. Peter knew a man at Bagby, but he is no longer at the airport, having been fired for some nefarious act (this we only found out because there were posters on the walls of the club house telling people that he was no longer welcome on the field). He actually told Peter that he left on is own accord!

After a chat and some Coca Cola we head off to Sywell, our final stop and layover before Booker, Wycombe.

We approach Sywell from the north and are routed along the west heli route. The routes us over the northern tip of the Pitsford Water. The tower let us park as near to the Aviation Hotel as possible, which actually was not very helpful since we still had to walk miles to actually get past the airfield fence to make it tot he hotel.

The Aviation Hotel is actually pretty nice and we have a pleasant meal and a celebratory bottle of Champagne. We are nearly there. Maybe, just maybe the world is round after all!

Faroe ro Wick

2017-09-21T09:27:00.001-04:00

Pay a huge fee at Faroe airport, the second largest on the trip and head off past the islands to the south east. Amazing pieces of rock with solitary buildings and settlements. One such island is just rock with grass on top and sheer cliffs all around, on this lone bastion sheep graze among the fenced 70 degree slopes.

Mid way through the crossing we lose all radio contact and relay our position with N104GH, two guys flying a SR22 who I met over dinner in Reykjavik.

After 1 hr and 53 mins we pass the Orkneys on our left, still with no radio contact. We have been in the Scottish FIR now for sometime, yet we haven't spoken to anyone.

Our first contact is with Wick. On approaching Wick, which by the way is pretty windy we fly over the castle hotel that we will be staying in tonight, the Ackergill Tower. A big grey granite house / Castle as you would expect in these parts set near the coast and among manicured lawns.

At the airport we meet the two guys flying the SR22, they are off further south tomorrow and will be staying in Wick tonight, unfortunately for them at different hotels / accommodation since Wick is fully booked.

To get to the Ackergill Tower we have to fly from the airport and land opposite the front entrance, where we are met by the Hotel Manager. The Manager greets us and lets us pack up and take photos before showing us to our rooms. Rooms is a bit of an understatement since we are staying in the six (maybe more plus) roomed beach house; there are no rooms available in the main tower. So we have the beach house to ourselves.

After relaxing I head to dinner and meet the other guests staying at the hotel and dazzle them with our exploits. The other guest are from down south (not much choice really) and are here for a wedding.

Dinner consists of a lovely steak (Andrew was correct, it was very good). After dinner I leave Peter to his own devices (literally) and heads into see what Wick has to offer. Not a lot it would seem, the two pubs that I was recommend turned out to be scant affairs (very working man club affairs). Still the Guinnes was once again good and went down well before heading back to the Beach House for a good nights sleep. Well actually before I headed to bed I met up with the other guest for a wee night cap.

Away to Faroe

2017-08-04T16:40:00.000-04:00

Have my very expensive breakfast at the hotel and set of from the airport for BIHN Hofn Hornafirdi. The weather is not great but it looks doable if we follow the coast. The ground below is all volcanic lava flow, which on many occasions is really discernible.

It is a good thing that we did follow the coast as the cloud started to turn to mist and fog a few miles east of Vik. Enroute we pass two beautiful water falls that I visited while on my cycle trip "Cycle with Schmeichel - Fire and Ice Challenge". Due to mountains and glaciers on the left we are forced to follow the volcanic beaches below.

It starts to clear just before the Iceberg lagoon some 40 miles out from BIHN. The approach and landing at BIHN was straight forward and the fuelling was efficient. The man from the tower greets us and sells us his lodgings for when we return.

Customs clearance is straight forward and now for the cold sea crossing over to the the Faroe Islands. At about 27nm out from Hofn Hornafirdi I spot another whale, this one was a very large species. A pretty cool site. Some 45 miles out we are forced to 650'ft due to low cloud and start to wonder about sea fog.

At 44 miles land is spotted. The Faroes are pretty impressive rocks and the path to the airport is along a Fjord, we are luck with the weather! The views along the fjord to the airport are amazing, this is an approach everyone should put on there bucket list!

It is some 50 minutes from Vágar to Tórshavn and like Iceland, the Faroes are expensive. Luckily we manage to get a lift form a young man who works at the hire car kiosk, saving us a few pennies. Not only did this save us some pennies but it also resulted in a small tour. We were taken on the old country road and shown some spectacular scenery and views as well as and old hut used for drying out fish.

Our hotel was meant to have a restaurant but not tonight, it is reserved for some gathering so we have to find something in town to eat. This is not so easy as it would appear that most places need reservations. On top of this Peter wants fish and I of course want beef, I do not eat fish. Most restaurants in Torshavn are either one or the other. After walking through town we eventual find a restaurant and sit down to a fairly lacklustre meal.

Later this evening I find the Irish pub, there is always one somewhere and try the Guinness. The Guinness was good but the bar was too hot and uncomfortable. I pop down stairs to another bar for a couple before heading of to bed.

No Mosquitoes and No McDonald's

2017-08-02T19:03:00.000-04:00

Reykjavik is a great town, but boy is it expensive! In fact so expensive that McDonalds pulled out in 2009.

Iceland puts last ever McDonald's burger and chips in national MUSEUM... after country's final fast food outlet shuts down

Breakfast at the hotel was $31 so I skip out on that and grabbed some Chocolate in town. Checked out the big church with the 595 pipe organ and listened and especially watched the organist play.

Hallgrímskirkja (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈhatl̥krimsˌcʰɪrca], church of Hallgrímur) is a Lutheran (Church of Iceland) parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. At 74.5 metres (244 ft) high, it is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in Iceland.

Had tea in town at $5 and had to wait for 20+ mins for them to make it.

Wx is great today but see in Scotland it is a little stormy. The good news is that I think it is going to move on.

Reykjavik possibly could be a cashless society as everywhere takes the card, this probably eases the pain of the huge prices.

Watching that Manchester United v Sampdoria game at Bjarni Fel. So far 1-0 to the good guys.

Watching a game with the commentary from a different game, very confusing

Woohoo we won!

Back to the hotel for dinner. Where I meet a couple of Americans who are crossing over in an SR22 back to the UK similarly to us.

Ok just paid an outrageous bill! But the accommodation was good. Iceland is not cheap.!

The land of no Mosquitoes!

2017-08-01T21:47:00.001-04:00

So goodbye to Greenland. On our climb out we get spectacular view of sea fog, low over the ocean, Icebergs jutting out through the top.

On contact with Sondstrom, Junior wishes us well on our 4hour 15min journey. Enroute the clouds slowing rise to meet us at 3,000 ft some 177 nvm out from Reykjavik.

The sea below us is the Irmingco sea and Iceland is the 18th largest island in the world and the second largest in Europe after Greenland.

70 miles out I spot a large pod of whales 🐳. Looks as if there are around six of them. The seas around Iceland are full of wildlife, whales or maybe dolphins?

Finally rid of the mosquitoes, Iceland of course doesn't have any, not sure why though, but after Greenland, this is a blessing.

Hotel is just outside the airport so great. Dinner is a pizza (oops).

Off to town with Peter to meet some friends.

Back by 1:30.

Nuuk to Kulusuk

2017-07-31T17:45:00.002-04:00

Wake up nice a fresh and get to breakfast before Peter but after the Fosters. Picked up my laundry from the front desk which included an extra pair of socks (they were Peter's).

After breakfast we take some photos with the Fosters before Jen's picks us up. In the tower we pay our dues and make our way to the helicopter. The weather is a little foggy but good enough for a SVFR takeoff. The fog is sea fog and the ice cap is clear.

So we head off and climb towards the east. The ice caps are around 8,500 ft high so me make a steady climb over yet more glaciers and icebergs. Over the ice cap the light is harsh on the eyes and the horizon, though clear, can be confusing. We have little depth perception so can never be 100% sure how high we are above the ground, we have to rely on our GPS data.

About half way we lose contact with ATC and have to start making satellite calls to report ops normal. It is also here that we intend to land at Dey3 or Sob Storey, an old disused US nuclear warning base on the ice cap.

I first spot the base some miles out but think that it is just dirt on the windscreen. As we get closer it becomes more obvious. As we approach we start our descent and view the possible landing. First we circle the site before attempting to land. We find a good spot and set down. We are cautious, we do not know the condition of the snow and ice. As we set down the snow gives way, we stop! We are not confident of the surface below us, we decide to abort the landing, no point in risking things this far in. It is a shame but looking at the abandoned site we are not sure how,we would have made it in in any case.

After the base the ice cap the terrain starts to recede and the given way to the sea. Further glaciers and and icebergs are enjoyed.

We approach Kulusuk and fly over the settlement of 290 people and land at the airport where we are fuelled by to local brothers before being taken to the Hotel Kulusuk. Not a bad hotel for the location and the buffet dinner was actually OK.

A short walk to the Center just to get some air. On the walk we pass a few drunk locals around 2% of the population.

Back at the hotel we settle down for our trip to Iceland tomorrow.

BBQ in Nuuk

2017-07-31T17:10:00.003-04:00

Not much happens during the day, after breakfast I head back to my room for a snooze and some tv. In the evening peter and Myself head into town and have beer at Daddy's before we are picked by Jens to have dinner at his house. We met Jen's through Juergen at Ilulusut.

Jens house has a fabulous view over the bay. We meet his wife who works as a pilot on the dash 8 for air Greenland. Dinner is a BBQ were I have steak with some wine. We have a really great evening and head back to our rooms at the Seaman's Hotel at 11:15 PM.