The travels of Pembroke & Somerville in 2007
2007 was the first year of retirement for the padres: they wisely decided there was no longer any reason for keeping the hotel running!. They could spend much more time in Moraira and could start tavelling seriously as long as funds allowed. . Nothing other than Photos 2007 on my website for this year: but a Star Flyer site and a Patagonia site on David's website. 3 navy photo albums exist and a black scrapbook on Patagonia, written in Spanish
An action packed year of travels. After 12 days at the Sarojin Hotel north of Phuket, we joined a half-full, ~70 passengers, four masted tall ship, the Star Flyer, on a repositioning sail/cruise from Phuket to Athens. Five and a half weeks away - wow!
Click on small/middle sized photos below to enlarge
As well as the community life on board, there were stops in Cochon & Goa, before the wonders of the Valley of the Kings , Luxor & Karnak temples, St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, navigation of the Suez Canal, the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Then Rhodes and the final day in Athens, 41 years after the padres were last there!! Unfortunately the madre failed to write a diary for this holiday, but a navy picture book exists. Click to enlarge
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Back to Moraira for a month or so before driving back to Cornwall and leaving almost immediately for 3 weeks in Ireland. We started with a week in Kinsale and were joined for a few days by Stephen & Clare. The next week at Terryglass, Tipperary and the final one at Kilfenora, from where we explored the Burren.. Another navy picture book describes our time there. Back in Cornwall visitors included Elaine Mortimer from Oz, Di & Tony, Hazel & Joanna.
Then it was time to fly to Krakow for the wedding of Paul & Katrina. We spent a week in an old appartment there and really fell in love with the city: the visit was made more poignant by the fact that I had recently discovered an account of my father's telling of his visit there in 1934!. A sombre side was visiting Auschwitz. Also we visited wondrous salt mines and had a trip to the Opera. . The wedding itself was in a splendid Catholic Church, the service a blend of Polish & English, followed by a champage & vodka soaked reception at a chateau out of town.
Returned to Moraira at the start of September, staying with Davida & Nigel and then with Gaynor & Vic in France enroute. I started giving beginners' bridge lessons at the club, in conjunction with Liz Blance. But we still managed to spend 2 weeks crossing the Pyrenees, from Atlantic to the Med, David on his bike, later on in September, Oz coming too, Black photo book on this trip
and then 4 weeks in Patagonia November/December, accompanied apparently by wee Oz- he's on the bed! The madre did write a spanish diary, but failed to transfer it to the web: rediscovered this diary in late 2013, and used it's empty paged to write up Australia 2013...but,then both of these then vanished with the stolen backpack at Barcelona airport!! Also http://www.patagonia-calling.com/
before flying on to Bocas, Panama to join Stephen for Christmas & New Year.
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Yet again, the boys, and likely Oz, accompanied us everywhere, yet only once managed to be snapped !. And I am not sure if they acquired any new friends either!