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Visiting Burford in the Cotswolds
Today was beautiful! The clear blue sky out our window this morning and forecast of warmth enticed us to go to Burford, a picturesque town on the southern edge of the Cotswolds. For those who have never visited, the Cotswolds is an area of almost impossibly picturesque and quaint villages, united by being built from…
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Nice animals in the fields!
The paths we’ve been walking through frequently cross farmers’ fields, where animals are grazing or feeding. All the animals are gentle and curious (and seem to be able to smell an apple in a backpack!) The cows and mares often have young ones with them…very cute. And we’ve been told that the two sheep are…
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Little Coxwell – our home for the next 2 weeks!
From Liverpool, we headed south to Oxfordshire, to the small village of Little Coxwell, population 171. Our friends Jim and Melissa have been living here for more than a year, moving from Palm Springs, California to see if living in the UK is something they want to do in their retirement. Melissa is English, raised…
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A Liverpool crush of friends and Ollie the Cat
Mornings in Tenerife started with coffee and tea, surrounded by maps and books of new places to explore. Mornings in Liverpool begin with the same beverages, but a bit later. We’ve probably been up to midnight at least, eating and drinking more than our fill the previous night, catching up with friends for hours. Great…
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Leaving Tenerife for Liverpool, and scattering Beryl’s ashes
All good things must come to an end, I have been told, and so we sadly left the warmth and adventures of Tenerife to go to Liverpool. We closed up Jane’s place (THANK YOU JANE!) and prepared it for the next visitors and then we all three headed to the airport. Tenerife faded to a…
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Beach Day! Watching windsurfers and kiteboarders!
The southern part of Tenerife is known for sun and wind, and it’s kind of a mecca for windsurfers and kiteboarders. It reminds me of Los Barriles in Baja California, at a slightly smaller scale. This is the main beach for El Médano, just a short walk from our place.
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Another stunning hike: Taganana – Afur loop
We’ve been using a Rother Walking Guide to select many of our hikes. It’s been super-useful, as it contains 80 hikes on the island with generally good descriptions and directions. This hike is one of fourteen labeled “Top Hikes” and I’ve been wanting to hike it since reading about it, but had some concerns about…
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Hiking Roque de los Brezos – amazing wildflowers and views!
Every hike we’ve done on Tenerife has brought delight and surprises, and this one was no exception. This hike showcased fields of wildflowers, dramatic peaks and also the well-preserved remains of farming and living of the indigenous inhabitants of the island. The landscape of Tenerife climbs rapidly from the coast, and just getting to hikes…
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Los Gigantes – Boat ride and dolphin party
One of the places we’ve wanted to visit is Los Gigantes. We saw the tops of Los Gigantes during our hike above Masca, but the beach and town named after the cliffs are big tourist attractions so we wanted to go. We are only hiking every other day due to our foot issues, so each…
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Hike around Las Vegas – Tenerife
In most countries that Chris and I have visited over the years, we’ve passed through a Las Vegas, many times a tiny hamlet that contrasts with the mega-Las Vegas of Nevada. This Las Vegas is tiny, set 2,000 feet up in the foothills on the south side of Tenerife. The 7 1/2 mile hike we…