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Today promised to be another warm and dry day – maybe not as much sun but definitely no rain.  Yay!  Time to do some more country walks and see about getting a little more history in.

We headed north west to check out a seemingly lovely walk in Tonbridge. We headed down a marked footpath, as we did previously with less success, and this time it was just as we expected: an obvious trail with visible markers and lovely scenery.  And a lovely ramble it was!  For the next 90 minutes, we walked through fields and forests, along the River Medway and across locks and streams.  We met other friendly dogs and Casey got her zoomies sorted running in a field with Dougal the Springer Spaniel.  It was funny and heartwarming. 

After our much more successful experience walking in the Kentish countryside, it was time to continue our Kent Country Pub tour.  Today’s dog and GF friendly establishment: The Poacher and Partridge.  This place has definitely embraced the gastro pub thing.  A traditional pub with a large restaurant that includes a wood fired pizza oven plus a huge outdoor space with a separate bar.  Very chic for the middle of Kent IMHO. 

We had some local beverages – I finally found a Kent wine I can say I liked Chapel Down Rosé from the one recommended winery we weren’t able to visit!  And the pizzas were incredible:  Frank had something vaguely greek on the house sourdough crust.  I had a white pizza with mozzarella, goat cheese, beets, and caramelised onions on a decent gluten free crust.  Casey had the “Doggie Deli” plate:  a dog bowl filled with sausage, ham, carrots, and peas.  You would have thought she had died and gone to heaven!

Our bellys full, we needed to do a little more walking to burn off all the delicious calories so off we went to Hever Castle.  As Tudor history folks are likely to know, this was the home of the Boleyn family for more than 70 years in the 15th and 16th centuries.  Yes, THAT Boleyn family.  In fact, it was a Hever castle that Henry proposed to Anne giving the Pope the finger and starting his own church. (Full disclosure: I am a member of the Anglican communion but I’m not saying what he did was right.)

Unfortunately, the Boleyn part of the castle was under restoration (grrrr) so I got to learn more about other history of the house.  Like how Henry gave it to Anne of Cleves when he divorced her.  Even more recent history of the house, it was bought but John Jacob Astor in the early 20th century. Yup, American money restored the residence and even got Astor a Barony and a Viscount title.  All for a mere $10mill or so.  Hever was also the site of another royal engagement:  Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon accepted the proposal of George VI at the estate. Yup, the current King’s granny got betrothed there. Pretty cool.

Although parts of the castle weren’t available, the immense and gorgeous gardens were.  Holy landscaping Batman!  This place is beautiful!  We wandered everywhere we could on the grounds – including the Italian gardens which closed shortly afterwards for a wedding. (I can’t even imagine the bill for that one!) Casey was determined to catch one of the many ducks and was surprised, yet again, that they are able to leave the ground to avoid her reach. 

Then it was time to head back to the cottage to pack and prepare for our departure tomorrow.  We booked a table at the Rose and Crown again since it was a lovely place for a meal and it is a 4 minute walk from the cottage.  While it was much more crowded and lively on a Friday night than was the case on Tuesday, we still had an excellent meal (salmon and honey ham in case you were wondering) and Casey got her fish treat.  After a wonderful day, we were wonderfully sated and ready for a good night’s sleep.

Data for today:

• Distance for today’s ramble: 6.27 km
• Total steps taken: 20,101
• Number of Henry’s wives discussed at the castle: 6
• Best T-shirt slogan: Divorced,Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. (Finally some good branding!)

This lesson is one that we needed to remember rather than learn. Our beach holiday tradition started many years ago with a trip to Jamaica that set the bar for all other beach trips. To some extent,we have tried to create the same experience every time.  Sometimes we are successful; sometimes we are not.  But this trip has really highlighted the shortcomings in this approach and reminded us to just enjoy each experience for its own merits.

Let’s make one thing clear:  this trip has been wonderful.  It was not exactly what we were expecting but it was most enjoyable nonetheless.  There were unexpected things – some pleasant surprises, others not – but nothing terrible. (Although Frank might have disagreed when the water stopped flowing while he was in the shower earlier this evening!)  The resort is very nice and will be even better when the season starts and everything is open.  We wanted an all inclusive on the beach and that is what we got.  We didn’t appreciate that the included bits would be somewhat lacking.  The local spirits are bogging!  The beer is fine and the rosé is drinkable.  The food is also fine but there has been no interest in catering to special diets.  Wait – what’s not strictly true.  There is a section of the buffet that has poached chicken, boiled potatoes, and steamed carrots.  Not exactly gourmet but technically gluten free.

The beach is also fine – sand and pebble as advertised.  The fact that we didn’t pack quite the right footwear to really be able to enjoy it fully is really on us.  But we got to swim in the clear turquoise water of the Mediterranean.  We have had a week of nonstop sunshine. We had plenty to eat and more than enough to drink.  We got to sail on a very cheesy pirate ship and watch small children revel in loads of suds.  We ventured inland to a canyon with a wealth of waterfalls and enjoyed the natural beauty of the place.  We slept well in a bed that feels bigger than our first apartment.  We watched people and made up stories about their lives.  And we generally just relaxed which is really what this week is all about. 

So today’s lesson children is really about counting your blessings.  We are lucky enough to be able to have these experiences when there are so many others who cannot.  I mean really – everyone should spend time on the beach with an international biker gang (club?) How else would you know you’ve actually lived? 

We have been lucky enough in our life together to be able to travel to many places and experience many different cultures.  On this trip, we have two more to add to our list.  I want to state outright that I am painting with a VERY broad brush and realize that these statements are really only applicable to the people we happen to have interacted with during this week.  Assuming that they are a representative sample may not be appropriate but I am doing so anyway. 

We knew nothing about Turkey before arriving here.  I still feel like we know next to nothing.  But one thing I do know is that smoking is very much still a thing here.  This is the first place I have been in decades where smoking is allowed indoors and pretty much everywhere!  There’s an ashtray in our hotel room and on every table in the bars and restaurants.  It’s so weird!  The smell of smoke comes through the vents in our bathroom which is mildly unpleasant.  You might think that it is the guests that are smoking so I shouldn’t put it down to the local folks.  The guests do smoke (more on them in a minute) but so do the staff.  In fact, we took the opportunity to have a spa day yesterday and during my massage, the masseuse put some hot stones on my forehead, covered my face with a towel and stepped out for a smoke!!!!

We also didn’t pay attention to the religious calendar when choosing our destination.  We are on holiday in a primarily Muslim country during Ramadan.  I have no idea who is fasting but I know that the queues for food after sundown are MUCH longer.  And many of the food services workers look very grumpy, especially at lunch, which may be completely unrelated but I know it would annoy me to watch people eating (so much eating!) when I was fasting.

Now let’s talk about the cultural differences we have with our fellow guests.  We have been to many places where we struggle with language but this is the first place I can remember where English is not commonly spoken even by the staff.  In fact, the staff are definitely multilingual, speaking Turkish, German, and Russian before English.  The vast majority of the people vacationing here are Russian speakers.  And they have very different perspectives on personal space and no respect for queues!  On more than one occasion, an entire Russian-speaking family has decided that they were more deserving of a place in line than I was and just jumped in line in front of me.  Again, I know that these may be the exception to the rule (insert joke about British tourists on holiday here!) but it does seem to be pretty common for those that are here.  They are not all Russian mind you. They come from many of the former Soviet states (that I improperly refer to as the “Stan” countries) as well as Georgia and Estonia.  At least that’s what I can gather from the Rolling Anarchy biker club jackets that have become very common here in the last day or two.

So children, today’s lesson is that just because you are well travelled and know that different places have different cultures, that does not mean that you don’t be surprised by how those cultures manifest while on holiday. And now a picture of pretty scenery.

Hello travel friends!

We are currently enjoying a beach holiday at a resort outside Alanya, Turkey. This is not the kind of trip we usually do blog posts about – if we do it right, there is nothing exciting to tell! However this trip has already resulted in several lessons that I feel the need to capture for posterity.

So watch this space for (possibly entertaining) tales of travel lessons learned the hard way.

Here’s the obligatory “I’m on vacation and you are not photo. 😁

It’s our last full day in Cape Town and we had another beautiful morning greet us. We took care of all the usual morning stuff: showers, breakfast, etc. And then just before 8am we headed down to meet our driver who would take us for the last event of the week: SAFARI! Now let’s be clear that this is really just a drive through a private game reserve rather than a fancy multi-day event in the jungle. But we’re happy to take what we can get!

We picked up our only other participant downtown – unfortunately, one other couple cancelled at the last minute as one of them got something dodgy to eat the night before. So with our new friend Deborah (marathon runner from the Yakima Valley in Washington) and our driver Kobus (who was originally from Namibia) we set out across the mountains to the Aquila Game Reserve. It took just over 3 hours with a stops for photos and comfort breaks. We arrived around 11:30 and had some time to kill before lunch at noon.

So while Deborah and I chatted about environmental compliance activities – her field – Frank was being adopted by an apparently lonely woman from Tampa Bay who seemed desperate to talk to people even though she was travelling with a group. So Divinia latched on to us for lunch and told us all about her life and how much connecting with other people was important and how the group she was travelling with was boring and how glad she was that she found us. And there were tears! It was a tad surreal – but gives me something interesting to write about because lunch certainly wasn’t interesting enough! Sadly Divinia was not on our safari tour so we had to say good bye after the meal – with the obligatory hugs – and we headed to the safari transport.

Kobus had recommended that we grab the front row just behind the driver to help block dust and make sure we could hear everything. It turned out to be a great tip given the amount of excess noise from our fellow passengers. I could forgive the Chinese guy who was obviously translating for two companions who apparently didn’t speak English. But the woman who answered her phone everytime it rang and even took a Facetime call while the guide was trying to tell us about hippos was just too much. Grrrrrr.

But regardless, we rumbled over newly created creeks that have sprung up since flooding rains hit a few weeks ago and then thumped across eroded ground and rocks and other interesting aspects of the terrain in search of “the Big Five.” I didn’t know this until doing some Googling but in Africa, the Big Five refers to the 5 animals that have traditionally been difficult for big game hunters to bag: African buffalo, rhino, elephant, lion, and leopard. We were lucky enough to spot 4 of them. (We knew the leopard was a no go since the reserve didn’t have any on site.)

In addition, we saw hippos, zebra, giraffes, baboons, springbok, and ostritches. The day was unbelievably beautiful and the sky impossibly blue while we went in search of Instagram moments. We learned a LOT from the guide about the mating habits of giraffes (which we were apparently interrupting!), the protective stomach enzymes of zebra, and the eyesight problems of rhinos. The only really disappointing aspect of the day was the lions who were kept in a separate enclosed part of the reserve ostentsibly to preven them from snacking on the horseback and quad bike tourists. Regardless, it was a fairly small enclosure with few places for the lions to be (or hide) so it did have a bit of a zoo feeling to it. We also got to take a bathroom break at a small cafe where we could grab a drink – including MCC bubbles in a stainless steel wine glass. Very fun but not very wilderness-y. (All was forgiven when Nigel the safari guide filled a water bottle up with additioinal bubbles for me!)

That zoo-ness feeling vanished when it came time to spy the elephants. They had free reign of the entire reserve and were so RUDE that they didn’t come anywhere close to where we were. Luckily Frank had the right lens on his camera so we did sneak a photo in where others weren’t so fortunate. After 2 1/2 hours of organ-rattling driving, it was time to depart. Which meant it was time for more driving but this time on highways in our air conditioned mini-van. We took the Hugenot Tunnel on the way back which made the return journey slightly shorter but then we hit Cape Town at rush hour so it was a wash. Still it was just over 2 hours telling stories and listening to South African tall tales and dad jokes. A most enjoyable way to spend the day.

But as it is our last night here, we had laundry and packing to do. Then some dinner at an upscale diner along the road (GF pizza!!!) and it’s time to tidy up and prepare for the work part of this trip that starts tomorrow. But not before enjoying our bottle of blanc du blanc from yesterday while chilling to a documentary about Nigel Mansell.

Here’s a very small sample of the shots from today:

Data for today:

• Steps: 9,873 or 4.6 miles
• Kilometers on highways: Approx. 400
• Hectares on the game reserve: 10K
• Hectares we covered: about 4K

We slept so well in our temporary home and were greeted by breakfast being delivered. Because it’s a small hotel, there is no bar or restaurant so our breakfast came on trays that we could eat in the minikitchen. Scrambled eggs and gluten free bread for me, ham and cheese with freshly baked rolls for Frank. Plus a full litre of fresh pinapple juice, coffee, muffins and fresh fruit. YUM!

After demolishing that and packing up, we were headed slightly up the cost to the beach town of Viña del Mar. This is supposed to be the place where all of Santiago goes to get out of the city. It is a lovely beach town but since it is early spring here, the weather and the vibe are not really very beachy. We started the day with a visit to the Reloj de Flores (Flower Clock) – functioning clock garden built for the 1962 World Cup which Chile hosted. As the only major tourist attraction in town, it was quite busy but we got our obligatory snaps even though the day was pretty damp and grey.

Then we started to wander into and around town. We saw the cool castle that isn’t open and we saw huge rocks covered with pelicans (a pod of pelicans apparently). We were wandering much more slowly than had been the case in the past because Frank has started to come down with something. We thought the stuffy nose was allergies but the post nasal drip and scratchy throat indicate maybe it’s something more. (NOT Covid) Given the weather and the lack of interesting non-beach things to do, a full day in town may be more than we are really interested in. Of course the town is busy: apparently there is a big marathon on here tomorrow as there are banners everywhere. 5K and 10K runners were busy this morning and the packet pick up for the marathon was mobbed.

After we ran out of things to do, we grabbed some lunch. (Notice we have stopped planning to eat and now we are grabbing things. Ugh.) Then we changed our return bus ticket to come back earlier. Once we arrived in Santiago, we ordered an Uber – driven by Wendy – where my bad Spanish was very necessary. Apparently one of us needed to sit in front with her so it wouldn’t be “illegal” – okay, we’ll send the lurgy one up front. Then as we get close to the hotel we see police lights parked on the street RIGHT OUTSIDE the hotel. Then Wendy explains that *Uber* is illegal in Chile (how does the app even work then?!) so she needs to drop us off away from the police. I’m fine with that – avoiding embassy involvement is one of my prime rules.

We manage to saunter casually and not guiltily back to the hotel where Frank gets put to bed while I get some work done. (Apparently, disserations don’t mark themselves? Seriously?) He did manage to gain consciousness long enough to walk around the corner for food. Again, this was not a planned dining experience but a necessity to consume some calories. Of course, that didn’t stop him from having a sandwich that is basically a Chilean cheese steak. (No mas queso!) I opted for a simple pork tenderloin with baked potato. Nothing to write home about really except for the part where I am. 🙂

We have a late checkout tomorrow so he should be able to get plenty of rest and I might actually get a few disserations marked. And then it’s another “Work for San, Play for Frank” week.

Data for today:

• Steps: 16,369 or 7.6 miles
• Average pace: 26 min/mile
• Normal pace: 18 min/mile
• Number of times San actually translated from Spanish: 6 (not everyone speaks English!)
• Number of hours Frank better sleep: at least 10! (He’s terrible at being sick!)

Now that the official work part of the trip is done*, it was time for an easy day. We slept in and enjoyed a leisurely morning with a few Zoom calls with friends in both the US and Africa. Then we headed out to see what else Santiago had to offer.

Today wasn’t quite fair to Frank since he had spent the last two days covering miles of territory while I sat in a hotel conference room for hours on end. But he had things to show me and we had meat to walk off. Our fantastic meal at La Cabrera last night was weighing pretty heavy on both of us – demasiado carne! – so we were aiming to get some steps in.

And steps we got! We started with a walk along tha Mapocho River all the way across town to Santa Lucia hill, the remains of a volcano and where it is said that Santiago was born. We climbed to the top to appreciate the views of the city – a bit of fog/smog hung around so the mountains were not nearly as impressive as they generally are. Then off to see the rest of the sights.

We wandered around the Plaza de Armas, the main square of Santiago, where I think every Chilean 4th grader was on a field trip. There were SO MANY smallish children as well as old men, possible sex workers, stands selling galletas magicas (yup, homemade edibles!). We wandered into the cathedral which was beautiful – and also hosting a mass so no photos were in the cards. (Side note: it’s amazing that although I haven’t been to a Catholic mass for decades – probably my wedding! – and it was being conducted in Spanish, I still knew exactly what was going on! )

Eventually it was time to find some food. I hate to say this but I’m tired of eating. Sacrilege, I know. But when we are at home, eating is easy: walk into the kitchen, find something appealing which will most likely be there because it’s your house and you buy the food. You don’t ever think about the fact that you likely eat very similar things in the same place most days. When you are travelling, it’s an entire PROCESS that doesn’t always make you happy. I’m not even getting into the issues involved with special diets because it will just make me weep openly. This is just the finding somewhere to eat, deciding what to eat, paying for what you ate, and then doing it all over again several times a day. And there is an underlying assumption that you don’t eat at the same place multiple times, as you would at home, because somehow that’s wasting an opportunity. {sigh}

It’s not that there isn’t a multitude of options here because there are. You can have empanadas from any store in any flavor in any size. There are fancy places, takeout places, Chinese food (so funny!), sushi, McDonalds, Little Caesers (!)…. the list goes on. But that is exactly the problem: too. many. choices. </soapbox>

We found a nice cafe/bar near one of the universities – of which there are SO many – and had a pretty simple lunch. Which we ordered entirely in Spanish. And that meant that Frank had no idea what kind of sandwich he was getting. (Turned out to be a kind of pulled pork which was delicious). We sat outside and tolerated the stupid smokers so we could watch the world go by. We were visited by one of Santiago’s many street dogs, watched people beg for food scraps from the table next to us, and then were serenaded by a misplaced Chilean lounge singer who really wanted us to like him. So interesting!

We headed back across the river to see if Barrio Bellavista was any different on Thursday than it was on Saturday. More aimless wandering through small sidestreets, peering in shop windows, and just taking in the scenery. And then…. we were done. It was like a bolt of lighting hit and we were no longer interested in just about anything. Especially walking around the city so we wanted to stop walking. But we had a good 2 miles to get back to the hotel. So walk we must.

I’m pretty sure we looked a bit like zombies as we trudged back east. Not much witty conversation, stumbling over the occasional tree root, desperate to find a gelato place that wasn’t creepy. Eventually we managed both the gelato – yummy! – and the trudge home. A cheap bottle of Chilean rosé was procured from the local shop and we crashed into the room. Of course I had work to do but Frank napped while I drank the rosé. And then it was time to do the eating thing all over again.

After a brief respite, we managed to hobble around the corner to the place we had lunch yesterday. We had the same camarera bonita who smiled and forgave our bad Spanish. A much more reasonably sized meal (with a full bottle of carmenere from the Maipo valley) was enjoyed. A little familiarity feels nice sometimes.

*I still have lots of work that needs to be done but it doesn’t involve a suit, powerpoint, or a microphone.

Data for today:

• Steps: 28,622 or 13.7 miles
• Hills climbed: 1 (Google says it was 12 floors but then Google said Porto was “mostly flat”)
• Glasses of sangria: 1
• Hours of work accomplished: 2
• Degree of exhaustion: 12/10

Minimal post to assure folks that we are still alive. These are the days that required my business attention. Luckily, my business clothes had finally arrived. First a full day of conference sessions about the data challenges for the statistics function at central banks. (VERY interesting BTW). Then an official dinner where Frank got to charm the central bank data folks – I was quite proud.

The second day was my day to shine, I mean present. I’m glad I didn’t know that it was being streamed/recorded or I would have been maybe slightly nervous (no, that’s not a thing!) I was quite proud that I hit my 20 minute mark right on the dot – so unlike me!

A few more meetings and the day was done! We managed to snag a table at a fabulous restaurant where we had WAY to much food (demasiada comida) and wine but we ordered it in fractured Spanish with a very jovial waiter who never made fun of our linguistic short comings.

Data for today:

• Amount of time I had for my presentation: 20 minutes.
• Number of times I practiced: 6
• Number of times I hit the time target during practice: 0
• Number of economist jokes I snuck in: 5

Okay team, it’s time to get ready for serious travel tenacity. We’re on a marathon run of 4 continents in 4 weeks. Mostly work and some play. Wanna follow along?

ABZ -> LHR -> GRU -> SCL (for 7 days) -> ATL -> DCA/IAD (for 6 days) -> AMS ->ABZ -> (for 42 hours) -> AMS -> JNB -> CPT (for 6 days)-> JNB (for 5 days) -> AMS -> ABZ

The game starts tomorrow – see you then!