The Dietzes of Durham

In April we were able to take a family holiday in Barbados, because Daddy was given another teaching assignment on Durham University's Caribbean MBA... Suffice to say, we rather enjoyed it!

Here is Liam drawing on the plane...

... and in the hotel pool, which has a pedestrian bridge going over it, and - even better - a cool tunnel at one end:

And in the sea at Rockley beach, just opposite our hotel:

On Sunday we took a fantastic tour of the east coast of the island, with one of Daddy's students, Marcelle Correia, which opened our eyes to the startlingly rich vegetation and variance in land formations and weather on an island that can fit ito the boundaries of Greater London three times. First up, we saw the carved lion on Gun Hill...

Stopped off for a drink in a village, with multi-coloured houses, and goalposts...

We then searched a village intriguingly named The Risk,

looking for the cliffs of a promontory called Pico Teneriffe. After negotiating the local bull - who was tethered, but with enough rope to work up a speed should he have felt the urge - we reached an outcrop from which we could only see the cliffs a distance. But it looked impressive enough from up there...

... finishing off with a great little walk along the beach at Cattlewash, so named because that's exactly what used to go on down at the beach in days of yore (credit, please, for this photo of V & L through some driftwood)...

The beach was raw and the waves rougher, and along the beach we could spot scuttling little soldier crabs

(look into the middle distance of one of the pics hereabouts of Valeria and Liam walking),

and some discarded crab shells:

Thanks to Marcelle for a great day, and for several top quality, and very rare, photos of all of us together:

We also took a government bus up to Folkestone Bay on the west coast, near the top of the island (Rockley, where we are stayed, is on the south coast).

It's a pretty place, with calmer waters and we had a great time chasing the shoals of tiny fish (here is Liam using his goggles to track them down; couldn't get close to grabbing one, though).

We then searched in the sea-bed for groovy-looking stones and coral - what we now know to be brain coral:

And a lovely sunset:

Liam and I also took a bus from Bridgetown into the country to Welchman Hall Gully (unfortunately Valeria was too poorly in the first couple of days). It's a nature reserve of interest to botanists, certainly, and the rich variety of flora is striking.

But for Liam and I, the principal attraction was the chance of spotting green monkeys! To do so is unlikely after lunchtime, we were told, and on our monkey-free wander back through the gully, we were a little despondent. But then we met a couple on the path ahead who were pointing into the trees. And there they were: a troop of monkeys. We snatched this hurried picture, so see if you can spot the monkey...

Here (s)he is [on the right hand side of the big picture, on a log].

Another great trip was with Jammin', to swim with the turtles. Liam had been practically hyperventilating with excitement at the prospect of doing so, but when it came to putting on his facemask he really didn't like the pinch on his nose.

We sought the reassuring confidence of one of the crew, who was a hero, instantly putting Liam at ease, and sure enough, within less than a minute of him getting into the sea and dipping his head under the surface, there they were: real, wild, hawksbill turtles going about their business in the ocean beneath us.

It was magical, and both Liam and Valeria got so close they inadvertently brushed against one of the turtle's shells with their feet. As well as the pics taken with our underwater camera, here's one of Liam explaining to Mum - who'd been in the water next to him - just how big they were.

We also swam over to a couple of modest wrecks, left there for such tourist excursions, but populated with enough shoals of fish to make them fun places to hang out.

In truth, we only really got 45 minutes out of a full day's trip swimming with the turtles (perhaps for eco-reasons, so as not to hassle them too much?), and it would have been better to have another snorkel in another location.

But the rest of the day was fun, especially sliding down the slide and jumping off the boat (see the video)...

... and enjoying a great lunch, and availing ourselves of the free rum punch (with bitters - you have to drink it with bitters). I also encountered Blood/Foot On Fire, which is a particularly bonkers Bajan Soca tune of considerable local repute - well, in 2010 anyway - and is hereby recommended to you.

Another rare all-of-the-family photo:

We also did the other quintessentially 'Bajan' tourist thing, the Atlantis Submarine tour, which is excellent value for the thrills - if you get to see them.

First of all, you are taken out by boat into the bay around Bridgetown where you rendez-vous with the submarine coming up out of the water like something from a James Bond movie - very cool.

On our trip we dived to a depth of 144ft, and we were lucky to be on the starboard side where we saw loads of shoals of fish but also the big sights: a hawksbill turtle swam by, a stingray glided along the sea bed beneath us, and what we thought was a barracuda but was instead something more mundane...

A fantastic holiday!

Labels: Barbados, Family holiday

We had been so surprised and impressed by our

summer holiday i n Zell am See in 2008 that we went again in August 2009, staying at the same place, Hotel Stadt Wien.

'Zell' really is a preposterously picturesque part of the world, a quiet, under-stated resort on the shore of a huge lake, surrounded by mountains covered in dense forest.

It takes a lot longer to get there under your own steam, mind: train down to Kings Cross then down to Gatwick, an overnight in a Travelodge where customer service clearly meant inefficient working practices and was accordingly rationed to momentary eye contact only. An early morning flight to Salzburg, then a shuttle bus to the train station, for a train down to Zell am See, and a taxi up to the hotel. But we got there.

This time Valeria's parents, Anna Maria ['Nonna'] and Maurizio, and Liam's cousin Elisa travelled across from Italy for the week, as well.

We had another great week of mostly sunshine. There was only one day when it chucked it down (for which we went to a great swimming pool/waterpark in Kaprun).

As well as just playing in the heated hotel pool, and the one down in town with the big yellow water slide, we took a long mountain walk down from the summit of the Schmittenhohe mountain that towe

rs over the town through the woods, and which is accessed by cable car. It's a stunning walk, with so many vistas.

We also took another trip to the Krimml waterfall, this time by a steam train departing from Zell am See.

It too is a spectacular place, the highest waterfall in Europe apparently, and takes about an hour and a half to walk to the top (where there is a cafe - the proprietor's journey to work every morning must leave her with calf muscles of steel).

But the best day was an all-family bike tour around the lake, a decently long journey of around 22km in circumference - with a stop-off at a lakeside cafe for an ice lolly. Spot the cheeky tongue out at the camera from you-know-who... (click on the picture to reveal!)