29 Saturday Feb 2020
Posted in Travel
We are doing a lot of hiking here in Madeira, just great. Yesterday Andrea came to join us and today we went on another 10km hike. The afternoons we spend at the hotel pool with a great view of the ocean. The weather continues to be warm and sunny.
25 Tuesday Feb 2020
Posted in Travel
We are spending a week in Madeira, nice and warm and full of flowers. Today we hiked 12 km up the mountain to Monte, but took the arial tram down. Now it’s time to enjoy a cold beer at the harbour and watch the local carnival activities.
22 Saturday Feb 2020
We are spending a few days in Germany and took my parents for an excursion to Eltville, a cute little town on the Rhine. I had organized this to spend time with Heidi, but she fell off a horse on Thursday and could not come. Bärbel and Siegbert joined us and we spent a nice evening with a good dinner and a quiet night in this medieval town.
19 Wednesday Feb 2020
Posted in Mallorca, On the water
We have packed our stuff here in Mallorca and shifted it to the locker we rent. Tomorrow we fly to Germany. The time here was great and the weather especially nice during the last few weeks. We plan to return in November.
As I was in Palma today, I visited the Galleon Andalucia, which is docked in the harbour this week. This replica of a 17th century Spanish Galleon goes back to a time when Spain ruled the high seas, a bit of sailing nostalgia for me.
14 Friday Feb 2020
Posted in Mallorca
Jessica and family are spending a few days with us and we are having great fun spending time in, on and at the water. We are also exploring some of the playgrounds in the area.
06 Thursday Feb 2020
Posted in Mallorca
Sheila was in the UK for a few days, including spending a special weekend with Oliver in London. She came back yesterday and today we went for a hike in the wilderness behind the Mortitx winery. Some of the area is closed from February to June because of vultures nesting there. We saw some vultures, but far away. We were probably walking too fast.
27 Monday Jan 2020
Posted in Mallorca
Ulrike und Klaus besuchen uns diese Woche, wir wandern, Klaus fährt e bike. Das Wetter ist weiterhin sehr schön und die Mandelbäume blühen.
24 Friday Jan 2020
Posted in Mallorca
The wind has died down, the sun is shining again and it is nice and warm. We used the nice weather for a round of golf.
21 Tuesday Jan 2020
We do get bad weather in Mallorca occasionally, and yesterday and today we experienced a strong southeasterly wind and big waves. Almost a third of the boats in the anchorage, 18 in total, were washed up on the beach and our patio got covered in seagrass and saltwater. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to improve and there will be a bit of cleaning.
18 Saturday Jan 2020
Posted in Mallorca
The patron saint of Pollenca, San Antonio, is celebrated on January 17 each year and the day is a big event in many towns and villages across Mallorca. In Puerto Pollenca this starts the evening before, with huge bonfires lit and public barbecues on many streets for the locals.
On the day itself, all kinds of animals are blessed in front of the Catholic church and a bare pine tree, made slippery with soap, is climbed by the local youth.
I missed all the fun as I went for a walk with a German group on Thursday, and lunch afterwards took rather long. Yesterday, I went for a stroll along the beach between Colonia San Pere and Can Picafort, much more quiet and less smoky.
The weather this week was sunny and warm, now the forecast is for three days of rain before the nice January weather will hopefully return.
