Turquoise water at Portinho da Arrabida and Fenda

We took some time until finally decide to visit Fenda, which is a "long fissure of overhung, bomber orange limestone" very popular for its climbing routes. Before Covid-19, it was not possible to take the car anywhere near, although this could be assessed by bus (a good measure by the local council!). Outside summer time, the place is too busy on sundays. We then visitied on a week day, outside the summer season, but still with summer temperatures. The place was empty and we had the rock for ourselves. However, there were not many routes we could climb because most of them are graded 6+ and overhung. There is, however, some very easy routes on the other side of the fissure and also further along. We have gone back on a sunday during winter time and there was lots of people, some with loud annoying music. So, this was a bad choice for sunday climbing. The beauty and uniqueness of the feature, which is inserted in the Arrabida Natural Park impressed me, as well as the colour of the water and of the sand of the beach named "Portinho da Arrabida". Unfortunatley, the amount of litter I found on the trail leading to the climbing area, right at the heart of a nature reserve, also impressed me for the negative. Later on, at home, some related news called my attention: the manager of the restaurant located in the car park was asking for measures to contain the declining of the beach area, this threatening his business, both in terms of infraestructure damage and in terms of decreasing numbers of people that the beach could bear and consequently the decreasing number of people visiting his restaurant. He claimed for a very short-term and expensive coping measure, namely for sand to be artificially injected in the beach so this could increase its capacity in terms of people per m2. It is clear that the impacts of climate change are already noticed at this low level. Individuals feel this in their day to day life, and their businesses are being negatively impacted. Our politicians prefer to hide their heads in the sand, prioritising climate change mitigation measures instead of adaptation measures, and implementing none of them.

 

Blue sea and orange sunset at Guia, Cascais

Since we have decided to start to explore climbing spots in Portugal we have been surprised by the variety, beauty, and uniqueness of some of these spots. In Guia, Cascais, the surprise came from the fact that, from the road next to the sea I never imagined what was going on down there. When I went down the stairs for the first time I found a completly different environment, whith climbers from different nationalities climbing routes with funny names (e.g. Nestum com grelos, Striptease). From that day onwards, we have been back several times, as it is just an hour from my seaside village in Portugal. This climbing spot can be very busy during the weekends, as it is just in the outskirts of Lisbon, and acessible from the city centre on a 30 min train journey. In the week days, and especially if it is a coollish day, it can be very quiet. The cliffs face South, so it is a perfect location for the winter as it catches the sun and it creates a microclimate, with the temperature feeling like 20oC. Sometimes at high tide, the rock can be a bit wet at the bottom and because it is a very popular place, the rock gets polished and it can be very slippery to start with. The sunsets are beautiful and worthwile waiting for. The views from the cliffs include some landmarks South of the Tagus river, such as Espichel cape and also the Arrabida mountain range. 

Escarpas Walkway (Passadiço das Escarpas) in Maceira-Porto Novo, Torres Vedras

In the past few years it has been fashionable to build wooden pathways to attract tourists and to encourage people to walk while observing nature, all over Portugal. These wooden pathways are usually built with a big contribution of European (EU) money, even though, it is not clear where the money to maintain them afterwards, comes from. Is from the council/municipality? Is it from the parish council, which is the lower administrative level in Portugal (third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal)?. Nobody nows. In any case, it comes certainly from the taxpayer. These pathways, built in wood, degrade over the years, and if not maintaned properly can be an hazard to people and can also be a source of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, during the degradation process. In Maceira-Porto Novo, near Santa Cruz, a wooden pathway of about 1km was launched in 2019 with the objective of offering people the opportunity to observe the calcarious cliffs in the gorge of the river Alcabrichel. In the summer of 2020, I thought this could be a interesting walk to do with my relatives with kids, who visited me in Cambelas. We went and we had fun together, but in the end we thought the wooden pathways do not add anything to the already existing landscape. It is a complete waste of money. It would have been better to use this money to preserve the network of small pathways existing the municipality of Torres Vedras. After this disappointment with the "Passadico das Escarpas" as it is called, we opted to do a much nicer walk around there everytime we go back. We walk up the small hill facing Santa Rita beach, enjoying the nice view over the sea (and the greenhouses!), reach the top of the Valongo hill (about 110m above sea level), go down the hill using the network of existing paths, pass by a traditional windmill and geodesic mark nearby, walk towards Casal de Alem and Casal da Barreirinha, and come down to Vimeiro Spa (Termas do Vimeiro) walking the agricultural tracks. From Vimeiro Spa to Santa Rita, we walk via the pedestrianised gorge along the river Alcabrichel, which unfortunately is not in a good condition, terminating our walk in Santa Rita beach just in time to watch the sun setting. In this way, we truly experience the beautiful cliffs of Maceira, Vimeiro and Porto Novo, not by walking the useless wooden pathways "Passadiços das Escarpas".

White stone in Montejunto Novo

This is Montejunto Novo. We have been here quite a lot over the past 5 years. It is only a 40 minute drive from Cambelas (in the seaside). I see this mountain from my window and it is good to visit it ferquently, and to observe the differences in vegetation colour and in the flowers, along the seasons. This climbing section is very popular. There is usually people who travel from Lisbon and surroundings, and also foreigners travelling and stopping to climb. From Montejunto Novo we can see the sea and even the water tower located only 2 minutes away from my village. There are some easy routes but I find most quite hard as they are overhanging and I do not like to climb on overhanging routes. In a summer's day it is a good place to be because it is quiet and it is not hot. Serra de Montejunto is a protected area since 1999. The vegetation and land patches are unique and sometimes we can hear birds of prey flying over the crag. There is also a series of old windmills that punctuate the rigde on the way up and an old house that possible belonged to the extincted forest extension services. The village at the base of the mountain, Vila Verde de Francos, is very sunny and very autentic.  

Climbing in Azoia - Sesimbra (Cova Mijona)

During the pandemic years, 2020-2021-2022, I took the advantage to travel more in Portugal and to get to known the Portuguese climbing spots. This is Cova Mijona in Azoia, Sesimbra. It is a hidden place, only accessible by a small path in the middle of the vegetation. It leads to these beautiful caves. Even though, the site is not just by the road, it easily accessible for those used to hill walking. It is usually fairly popular among foreign people. We have met there french, italian, spanish people. As the bottom is safe, we have met parents with small children as well. There are easy, intermediate and difficult routes, so this area is suitbale for all types of climbers. It is in the shade in the afternoon, so it is a perfect spot for a hot summer's day.

Women's day in Cambelas

Since 2019, and because I have been spending more time in Portugal since then, I have established a the tradition of celebrating the 8th of March in my house with few women of different generations. My mum and two other women of about her age, and myself and another two women of about my age. The result, apart from the beautiful food that everyone prepares, is the sharing of experiences and the learning from older times that we, the youngest women have not experienced. The older women, lived until they were adults without electricty, running water in the houses, tarmaked roads, public transport, access to secondary schools, during a dictatorship and one of them even without national health system care during pregancy and labour. It is amazing how behind rural Portugal was only 45 years ago, even for a village that is located only 60km away from the capital, Lisbon. The worse deprivation in my opinion was on access to education after primary school, but this is mainly the assessment of someone like myself with a PhD degree since the older women cannot even understand what they were blocked from getting: knowledge about the world, literature, learning of different languages, the ability and confidence to travel on their own. On the other hand, they lived in a time where every little thing was valued, the new clothes premiered in the religious festivities, the balls in neighbouring villages, the walking to the balls at night in groups and via narrow and muddy footpaths, the watching of the first Brazilians soaps in the village cafe as none of them had television at home. They also kept an unique vocabulary only used in Cambelas, which should never be forgotten. These older women are the pillars of ourselves, younger women. Their strength, resilience to hardship and love for their children is what allowed us to become independent women nowadays. I hope to keep this tradition of celebrating the 8th of March for many and healthy years. 

Blue carnival in Cambelas

21-26 February 2020 was the last big Carnival in Torres Vedras. This Carnival is said to be the "most portuguese Carnival of all carnivals in Portugal". It is non-stop partying, day and night, with thousands, if not millions of people visiting every year. Men dress like women, groups of people join to dress up acording to the theme of the year, there is a parade with kids from all schools in the municipality who dress up thematically, and there many other carnivalesque activities. The traditional protuguese saying "life is two days and Carnival is three days" does not apply anymore, as Carnival now lasts for 5 days. This Carnival is promoted by the Municipality of Torres Vedras who invest a great deal of money in the organisation of the event.  In Cambelas, however, there is usually a smaller Carnival, organised spontaneously by some people in the village and very bottom-up. For the few years, many village characters appear by magic in the village corners. These represent distinctive people in the village and it is usually easy to identify who are the people characterised. These characters can be close together without the danger of catching Covid-19. Unlike the big parties in Torres Vedras which had to be cancelled in 2021 due to the large amounts of people packed like sardines and the huge risk ouf Covid-19 outbreaks, Cambelas' small, simple and spontaneous Carnival went ahead! The pandemic just proved that the small and simple can be good!

Colourful handmade nativities

This place holds some magic. This is Cambelas wash house, lavoir or public basin, where the women used to wash the clothes before water was piped from the grid into the houses in the late 90s. There was also a public cattle drinking basin and a fountain for human water consumption. Many years have passed, the women have left, there is no cattle to water, people now buy bottled water and tarmak arrived (What for?). Recently, someone in the village had the idea to display a handmade nativity here during Christmas period. Many families adhered to the idea, and the result was more than 40 nativities presented and many visitors from outside the village. Before the pandemic arrived, families also got together here in Christmas eve to toast and to sing Christmas songs.    

Green at Bacalhoa Buddha Eden

The Bacalhoa Buddha Eden is a garden near Bombarral, in center Portugal. I have heard about it some years ago and always wanted to visit it. I went there in the beggining of 2020 and was surprised to see so many people inside the walls. I was also surprised with the 5 Euros ticket they asked to entry the garden as it used to be much cheaper before. I thought this could only be the result of the tourism boom in Portugal after the 2011 crisis. The current COVID-19 situation returned Portugal to the Portuguese. 

The garden is located on 35 ha Quinta dos Loridos and it is own by Joe Berardo, a rich businessman who made his fortune in South Africa. He built it in response to the destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas in 2001 by the Taliban. It is, apparently, the biggest oriental garden in Europe and intends to be a place for reconcialiation and peace, not linked to any particular religion. The garden has many corners to  explore and many Buddha statues to meet. It is worthwile visiting but if in search for relaxion and peace I think nothing is better than the true natural landscapes which are abundant in Bombarral and surroundings.

Blue water at the Tunstall reservoir

An Autumn walk around the Tungstall reservoir near Wolsingham on a sunny day is what is needed to keep vitamin D levels high when the clocks goes back to winter's time. According to the Wikipedia: "Tunstall Reservoir was a water supply storage reservoir completed in 1879, and now used solely to maintain minimum regulatory flows on the River Wear in northeast England. It is situated in the north Pennines of the United Kingdom, and lies 3.5 km north of the village of Wolsingham, in Weardale, County Durham." The services provided by this water reservoir, as well as from many others in England and Wales, were privatised in England in the late 80s during Margaret Tatcher's conservative government due to the underfunding of the water sector by the State. According to Wikipedia: "The water privatisation in England and Wales involved the transfer of the provision of water and wastewater services in England and Wales from the state to the private sector in 1989, through the sale of the ten regional water authorities (RWA) (...) " the RWAs were hampered by chronic underfunding and lack of investment from central government. Underinvestment in infrastructure combined with sustained water pollution by industry contributed to a continued decline of both river and tap water quality. (...) England and Wales became the only countries in the world to have a fully privatised water and sewage disposal system." With the privatisation of the water sector, water became a commodity rather than a right that people should have. Joseph Chamberlain, who was one of the main early supporters for the nationalisation of the water supply and sewerage (WSS) system clearly exposed the perversity of privatising a public good such as water: "It is difficult, if not impossible to combine the citizens' rights and interests and the private enterprise's interests, because the private enterprise aims at its natural and justified objective, the biggest possible profit".

Colourful Pennan

 

Pennan is a small fishing village in the coast of Moray, in Scotland. To arrive there we have to drive along winding roads down the hill towards sea level. The colourful houses are exiting and fresh and not grey and boring like the granite and colourless houses in Aberdeen. The village is inspiring as it is by the sea and we can seat in one of the outdoor benches and look for dolfins, seals or seabirds. In the winter, when we mostly visit Pennan, we always try to have food at the Pennan Inn (made famous by the movie Local Hero) but we are usually disappointed by its low season closure. We like to walk to the next village Gardenstown, trying to capture the exquisite decoration of the small houses through their little windows, appreciating their little gardens, and envying the kayaks laying on the sides of some houses, waiting to have some fun at the sea. I usually look up to the imponent Auchmedden Church, placed at a higher point, overlooking the villagers' steps and reminding them not to sin. The village is quiet but gets its portion of weekend visitors and holiday makers. In the late 19th century,  the North East was living the herring boom and Pennan was a relatively prosperous and bursting village.

Golden Cairngorms

Last Summer I went back to the Cairngorms. The weather was very good and the long walks to the climbing spots were long but not too arduous. We climbed the Pygmy Ridge in the Northern Corries and Afterthought Arete and Final Selection above Loch Avon (Stag Rocks). The routes were classical and easy enough for the "two of us" in me, and the views were stunning. Only the midges were bad and almost ate us alive in the last route of the day (Final Selection) above Loch Avon. The stay was at an overorganised campsite in Grantown-on-Spey, with strict check-in and check-out times and numbered pitches for the tents where we had to be led by someone working at the campsite. The only advantage we recognised in this campsite was 1) it was not fully booked; and 2) it was close to Aviemore and the Coire Cas Base Station, where our walks to the climbing spots started. Aviemore, even though a town made for tourists and skiers, has a good selection of places to eat and fortunately their kitchens do not follow the typical Scottish closing hours. Tasty and good size fish and chips, and delicious pizza, were still available until 10pm, which was perfect for us who usually arrived from the mountains at around 9pm. These were my last climbings in 2019 and I was happy it was at the heart of Scotland, near were I first went with my aunt Dina and uncle Nari, in 2007, in my very first weekend in the country.

Blue T-shirt in Duddon Valley, Lake district

According to Wikipedia: "The Duddon Valley is a valley in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Duddon flows through the valley, rising in the mountains between Eskdale and Langdale, before flowing into the Irish Sea near Broughton in Furness." Also according to Wikipedia, the valley is frequently called Dunnerdale, but the walker and illustrator Alfred Wainwright preferred the name Duddon Valley. 

I have stayed twice (at least) at the Turner Hall Farm/Campsite. It is a friendly and quiet campsite at walking distance from the Newfield Inn and nearby interesting rocky outcrops. The climbing site in the photo is Birk's Bridge Crag and can be found in the middle of a verdant Forestry Commission woodland, which looked ancient. To reach it, we crossed the famous 18th century stone bridge, Birks Bridge. The climb was easy but still challenging for someone with quite a few "additional" kilos. This area is very picturesque and far from the Lakes summer crowds, so it is very tranquil. The only annoying thing is that the closest pub, as most pubs in England and Scotland, stop serving food very early. In the summer, when it does not get dark until late (~11pm), it does not make sense for pubs to close the kitchen at 8pm (at least for a Portuguese, and I would think for a Spanish too) - they would not survive in Portugal or Spain. The only advantage is that we save lots of money by having to cook the meals in the tent. Maybe if they knew what was about to come (COVID-19) they would have made an effort!

Blue European Flag

I never wrote about Brexit before because it hurts. I know exactly where I was when the Brexit vote won in June 2016. I was in Manaus, Brazil, which is currently one of the most affected places by COVID-19. A group of us came into my hotel room to watch the results late at night. We were mostly non-British working in the UK. It came like a cold-water bucket and the day after it felt as a boyfriend had left me. I am convinced that big problems such as climate change or tax evasion are solved together not alone. But many people thought that single countries can solve their own problems and that there are no shared or entwined problems. I have had the opportunity to get to know England much better and to realise that there are many people left down by Westminster Government, especially in the North East of England. If the European Union started to be more about people's well being than about the common market, maybe those deprived areas did not exist and a Brexit vote would not have happened. But it did. Last year, in March, a big demonstration anti-Brexit happened in London after months of failed attempts to draw an exit deal. However, many of the people attending were foreigners, are used to travel abroad all the time, are professional, are bourgeois...People from those deprived areas in the North East of England were not there. The European Union should be a Union to safeguard and promote good environmental condition, education for all, well-being, decent work conditions, free health services. If these were the true goals the UK would not be heading for the abyss and the unknown.

Green, cool Brixton

Last year I had the opportunity to live a bit of the London life. I worked in the posh Chelsea area located in South West London, I stayed in Bounds Green, I jog in Battersea Park and I went to Brixton on the weekends. The Brixton area hosted the first wave of African-Caribbean, who now form part of the British-African-Caribbean community. Because of this, there are many African-Caribbean shops and many colours too. There is also the quirky Brixton market with an array of restaurants and cafes, and very tasty food, from all over the world. Even Portuguese food is prepared and sold in the Brixton market! I also attended a service in a church in Brixton. The minister was a woman of Nigerian origin and the co-minister was a woman of British origin. The women’s preach sound very ethical, eloquent and engaging to me. They also acknowledged my presence by asking my name, by singing a song and with clapping of hands at the end of the service. I felt very welcomed and I thought I would be happy to attend these services more often if I lived in Brixton. This also made the mass in the church close by my house in Portugal look obsolete. I was raised as a Catholic and played the organ and directed the choir for 17 years in this church. Then, I grew more and more disappointed with the machoism still implanted in the Catholic Church, where women cannot become priests, priests cannot marry, preaches do not make any parallelism between the Bible texts and the real life etc. Of course, there are also very intellectual and progressive clerics, who are a pleasure to listen and to read, but unfortunately this is not the rule and they hardly make to these little country churches in Portugal. I still go every now and then to the church for any special event but I long for something closer to the service I once attended at a Brixton church, in London.  

Grey sea and sky by J.M.W. Turner

The Shipwreck by J.M.W. Turner (Photo by Diana Feliciano)

I have been several times to the Tate Modern Museum in London but never visited the other Tate, the Tate Britain, until last year. I passed by and decided to enter. As soon as I was inside the museum I learnt there were guided visits to the collections and happily found out that one of those visits was to the collection of the great British painter William Turner. I felt so lucky!!! The Tate Britain hosts the largest collection of works by Turner, whose style is unmistakable. Themes painted by Turner include seascapes, countryside scenes, gothic cathedrals, landscape and history, fire and water. My favourites are the seascape paintings such as the Shipwreck, first exhibited in 1805. The other very popular painting I like a lot is Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps. Turner was a very rich man which allowed him to paint as he wanted and to be innovative. He was also a very eccentric person. On my first visit to Barnard Castle, where I now spend much of my time, I was told that he has been there and painted from the bridge across the River Tees. A good movie on the life of Turner is: "Mr. Turner" with Timothy Spall.

Grey smoke from muirland burning

In one of my walks last year, I saw this scene of moorland burning in the North York Moors National Park. I have witnessed this many times in Scotland, before, but because I was at the time contributing to the land use section of the UK net-zero report by the CCC, this image shuddered me. Moorland burning is the planned burning of small areas of older heather, mostly undertaken by private Estate owners with the objective of regenerating the heather and of promoting blueberries essential to feed red grouse and deer. It is very sad that we hardly see any other wildlife (e.g. birds of prey, which should be abundant in an ecosystem full of grouse and deer. This is because private Estates manage these huge amounts of land to promote only a couple of species for the pleasure of rich hunters that fly from the big cities and from other countries to shoot them. It is also unacceptable that when all sectors of the economy have to set targets to become greenhouse gas neutral by 2050, or even before, private Estate owners are not presenting alternative management options in moorland areas. To stop carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions resulting from heather burning and the associated damage of blanket bogs, which are very important reservoirs of carbon, is essential to achieve several sustainable development goals (SDGs). A common excuse from managers is that burnings are controlled and do not damage blanket bogs but two questions are posed: Is this really checked and monitored by Defra and/or Natural England? Why does heather/burning continue only for the pleasure of a few, who also add to the carbon emissions budget of this land use by flying to these places for shooting? A more climate smart management practice is required. This could be to let native trees and vegetation to thrive, as this would conserve the peat and sequester carbon, and contribute to the net zero targets. Landowners could claim subsidies if they could prove they are providing ecosystem services such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, water conservation, and biodiversity.

Green Rio Sizandro

The Eco-Caminho of Sizandro (Portugal) is a trail that can be done by bike or walking. One section starts in the city of Torres Vedras and it finishes in the firth of river Sizandro (Foz do Sizandro), totalising 18km distance. There is also a variation that leads to Santa Cruz (21km), a popular holiday spot in the Portuguese Atlantic coast. The trail breaks in between agricultural fields of fruits and vegetables and as it accompanies the margins of the river Sizandro, the difficulty level is low. It also passes by several forts of the Lines of Torres Vedras, built during the Peninsular war with the objective of defending Lisbon from the French troops. The lines of forts were named after the city of Torres Vedras and their construction was supervised by the commander of the British troops, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The eco-caminho passes through several interesting and authentic villages such as Ribeira de Pedrulhos, Ponte de Rol, Bordinheira, Aranha...I do this trail very often on my all terrain "Specialized" bike and I enjoy the views, the birds singing, the Atlantic. However, it deeply saddens me the way that farmers, walkers, fishermen and others treat the land and the river, with many litter left behind, mainly plastic litter. There seems to be no respect for nature and no awareness on how harmful this is for animals, ecosystems and human life.

White Maroon Bells

Apparently, this is one of the best views in the US. These two sharp mountains, still covered in snow in June, are the Maroon Bells and the photo is taken from the Maroon Creek Valley. It would have been very nice to climb these mountains, but a plaque at the visitor centre read that even experienced climbers find this climb extremely difficult. The Maroon Bells are two peaks above 4,000 meters which are located in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of the White River National Forest. So, on my own but together with the masses, I hiked from the Maroon Lake to the Crater Lake. In the Crater Lakes the masses stopped and enjoyed the views, but this did not satisfy me. So, I went a further into the wild. I only met an old couple of backpackers after passing the Crater Lake. This moment was inspiring for me as I saw that at their age they were still walking and camping outdoors. They explained me how to scare a mountain lion if I ever would see one: to stand tall and raise the arms overhead in order to look as big and intimidating as possible. However, some days before, someone else told me that if I ever saw a mountain lion that would have been already too late...I did not, though, not even a brown bear, which apparently is much less dangerous than a mountain lion. I passed by an elk without knowing it was one and this could have been dangerous as elks can charge, especially if they have calves with them.

Green, blue and rocky around Dunkeld

A useful climbing spot south of Aberdeen is Dunkeld in Perthshire.  Here we can find the obvious outcrops near the main road, but also those more hidden and secretive, which involve some walking through the woods to find it. Dunkeld is separated from Birnam by the river Tay and the Birnam wood is mentioned in Macbeth, one of the most well known Shakespeare's tragedy. Dunkeld is very picturesque and it has a XIII century cathedral which is worth a visit.

Grey in Beinn a' Bhùird

Some endurance is needed to do this climb. It is not for the climb itself but for the full day before, during and after the climb. Leaving Aberdeen at around 10am, parking the car at Invercauld Estate, get on the bike up the valley with the camping and climbing gear on the back, put the tent up in the fairy valley, eat and get some water in the stream, get again on the bike with the climbing gear on the back, lock the bikes, hike up the mountain, look up for the climbing route, multi-pitch climbing, going down the mountain, get on the bikes, arrive to the tent, sleep. The only feasible activity for the following day after packing everything and getting on the bikes down the valley was to drive to Linn of Dee and swim.

Nab Crags in blue

The Lake District is full of little pretty places. By going away from the main roads and the main lakes the bustling gives place to the silence of the valleys. The Lakes are a handy region to have close by, either to climb, hike or sailing. The other temptation of the Lakes is its several country pubs. These are cosy and warm in the winter, always with the fire on. In the summer they have tables "al fresco" and the food tastes even better.

Imponent golden Bowes Museum

The Museum is in the market town of Barnard Castle, County Durham situated in the heart of the Pennines in North East England. The town is just off the A66, 20 minutes by car from Scotch Corner (A1), 40 minutes from Penrith (M6) and 40 minutes from Durham Tees Valley Airport. Interesting place for a wandering around and be inspired.

Grey stone bridge

This is the Ashness Bridge, which is a traditional stone-built bridge on the single-track road from the Borrowdale road (B5289) to Watendlah in the Lake District. This point is famous for being a good viewpoint across Borrowdale  towards Skiddaw. Nice green pools for a refreshing paddle.

Blue ocean in Gruinard Bay

"Gruinard Bay has three stunning, pink sand beaches from the Torridon rocks. From Gruinard Bay there are wonderful views across island studded waters to the Coigach Hills.  The area is very interesting from a geological viewpoint and many unusual stones can be found near the rocks and shoreline. The beach offers spectacular views of An Teallach and the northern Highlands." (Source: https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/gruinard-bay-p314331)


Great climbing spot. In a hot day the sea and the spring are just there for an after climbing dive.

Green Holy Isle

To arrive to the Holy Isle we have to catch a small boat at Lamlash Bay, in Arran. The boat takes only a maximum of 10 people but we were only 4 to take the last opportunity of the day to go there. At arrival we were welcomed by a nice German/Dutch resident (or volunteer) of the Budhist Community, which runs the Centre for World Peace and Health, who told us what were the attractions of the island. And the only thing to do was just going up and down the hill and around the island, while seeing the different painted figures of Budha. There was also the caves where the hermit St Molaise lived in the 6th century. The visit has to finish at 4pm, which is when the small ferry boat comes back to pick the single day visitors. While waiting, we fed a cereal bar to a couple of chaffinches and a blackbird and I visited the organic allotment maintained by the community. Ah, and I went for a swim. The water was quite warm to my surprise! 

Yellow and warm sunset in Cir Mhor

Nice walk through Glen Rosa until reaching the bottom of Cir Mhor. Good rock for climbing. Pleasant and smooth climbing with a great view over Arran at the top.


"Cir Mhor (Big Comb) is the last of the Corbett peaks of Arran and sits at 798m high. The name comes from the peaks resemblance to a cockscomb. Although not the highest peak in the range, Cir Mhor is justly described as the finest peak in the range. It forms, roughly, a triangular pyramid shape that faces one side towards Glen Iorsa, another to Glen Rosa and the third to Glen Sannox. Cir Mhor provides some of the best rock climbing on the Island." (In: https://www.summitpost.org/the-isle-of-arran/458606)

Blue sky and sea at Sheigra

This summer is being fantastic. And when the summer is like this in the west coast of Scotland, there is hardly any other beautiful place in the world. Fortunately for me, who likes travelling the world, the weather is hardly fantastic in Scotland and this summer has been only an exception. After a busy winter, spending few days in Sheigra was recharging. There is a nice beach, good climbing in the sea cliffs and a free site to camp!

Blue and red jackets

I sometimes think that if I reach my 70s, and with relative good health, I will be ready to travel around the world in cruises, as many old people do because it is an easy way of seeing the world with everything arranged for you. I just cannot stand the idea of travelling in a cruise but deeply believed, until very recently, that in my 70s I would have a different opinion about it. Some weeks ago, however, I was climbing Sgurr Alasdair in Skye and came across a group of over 70s climbing the Cioch. I have changed my mind. I will definitely pass the cruises in my 70s if I can!

Also grey sky in the South of Africa

I want to go back to South Africa. This first trip to the country was only a recognition trip. I did not travel  much around. I paddled in the Indian ocean and found out the water was as cold as the Atlantic ocean that bathes Cambelas, and that, similarly, the beach also get lots of plastic litter. I spent my weekend looking at the ocean from my room in a B&B located in the first line sea view. One night, after coming late from having dinner down town I met the only other host of the B&B I was staying, a guy from Swaziland. We went for dinner the following night and I learned so much about this small monarchy stuck between South Africa and Mozambique and about his refined taste for classical music. Unlikely but pleasant meetings usually happen when one travel alone.

The grey skies of Galicia

When I was 15 years old a read the book Diario de um Mago (The Pilgrimage) from Paulo Coelho, which was an inspiration at that age. The author walked the French way to Santiago de Compostela during six weeks and relates his experiences of self-discovery during the more than 1000km. Since then, I always wanted to walk the way as well. And in fact, throughout the years I have done bits of the Northern way and the French way, and I have visited Santiago and its imposing cathedral. Last April, by chance, all the stars aligned for me to do one of the Portuguese ways to Santiago with three colleagues. But I haven't walk though, I cycled, and I did not go for self-discovery but to appreciate the scenery and enjoy the experience. It took us 3.5 days to cycle from Porto to Santiago (~230km). We slept in Ponte de Lima, Redondela and Padron and we soaked to the bones in the second day as it rained and haled as if we were in Scotland (but we were in Galicia!). Cycling the Portuguese way was not peanuts, especially going up Serra da Labruja, in which we almost had to carry the bikes on our backs. But the landscape was always surprisingly refreshing and picturesque and it was interesting to see and talk to so many people walking the way. Arriving at the main square at Santiago, in front of the cathedral brought me an enormous sense of achievement, and the mysticism that I lacked during the way appeared in full power. 

Blue Spring gentians

The presence of unusual artic-alpine plant species in the Upper Teesdale nudges me to walk about two miles along the river Tee in the beginning of Spring to witness the flowering of the Spring gentians. What makes this place favourable to the gentians is the rocky outcrops of unaltered limestone, an upland setting which retains harsh climate, and unfavourable mineral content of soils to the growing of grasses that could compete with these rare flowers. Much of Teesdale has been designated as a protected conservation area.

Green and grey High Cup Nick

"This dramatic place is traditionally referred to as High Cup Nick, although rather intriguingly some old maps label it is as Eagle's Chair suggesting and eyrie probably existed here in times past. (...) The long symmetrical escarpments of dark dolerite at the rim of the valley are a result of the Whin Sill outcropping on either side of the valley. The whinstone rocks have then been eroded and weathered into columnar pillars, often producing a pleated effect in the play of light and shade." In The North Pennines - Landscape and Legend by Iain Brown. 

White milk and dark coffee

This is the best of field work: To seat down with people, to chat even if this means only to exchange names and laugh with each other, and taste what people want to offer you. With them I drank delicious raw milk from the local cows as well as coffee with salt, ate enset which is the fermented and roasted stem of false banana, and snacked roasted barley.

Playing with colours

These days I call myself not an interdisciplinary researcher, not a transdisciplinary researcher but an undisciplinary researcher. This means to be problem-based, interactive and involving strong forms of collaboration and partnership. While my colleagues where undertaking interviews with farmers in their local language I was finding out more about the children of the village. We exchanged our names, I taught them colours in English and they taught me several words in their own language. All is possible when we are undisciplinary.

Green Dufton Pike

Dufton is a small village with beautiful stone houses which is a staging post on the route of the Pennine Way. Behind the village the Dufton Pike rises steeply to the sky like an old volcano ready to become active again. Dufton Pike, together with Murton Pike and Knock Pike have been called the sentinels overlooking the eastern fringes of the Eden valley. Having a drink at the Stag Inn after the walk always guarantee an amusing conversation with the locals.