The snow had fallen hard all night. By morning all my worries on the drive over were put to rest- there was more than enough snow to ski! Strapping on ski boots, fitting those helmets, trudging down the road with that funky walk unique to winter sport (think of a drunk lizard). First up on the first lift.
Prune jumped out of the Audi’s boot. She pricked up her ears, taking in the sound of leaves rustling in the light breeze, the call of a blackbird perched in a cherry tree. Her nose twitched, distracted by the scents in the warm air. Then her face broke into a smile and her tail swept back and forth ferociously. She remembered this place! Her emotions mirrored mine- if I had a tail I’d have wagged it too. It was a beautiful July day and we were back in the Loire- our favourite place in France.
A motorbike pushed its way through the traffic. Another followed, then another. Some had the whole family on board. A man carried two goats under each arm on another. A small car decided to follow the motorbikes, forming an 8th lane where there was space for two. The pretty face of a Bollywood actress smiled down from a billboard, urging us to drink Coca Cola. Kids sold cheap plastic toys whilst the light was red and a cow blocked the road when it turned to green, to be met by a chorus of hoots and horns. We sped off, into the chaos, our windows open, the car soon filled with fumes and warm tropical sunshine.
By now you must have realized I often get an idea in my head that I get set on and then have to carry out no matter what. Learning to surf was one of them. I’ve had this fascination with surfing since I was small; I used to watch those ads for Roxy and wonder what it felt like to be enclosed by a wave. Obviously those were professionals, but I had to start somewhere and began to research where I could learn.
Mozambique, just the name sounds exotic. Although I saw very little of the country when we visited, there’s no doubt that this once war-torn country can’t stay under-the-radar for much longer. From the long arcs of cinnamon sand shelving into the Indian Ocean, to the heavenly mangoes that seem to fall from every tree, Mozambique makes the perfect post safari flop.
Since as long as I can remember, one of my biggest dreams was to swim with dolphins. I know lots of people have this on their bucket-list, but I always had doubts about dolphins kept in captivity just so we could enjoy ourselves. At the same time, after I visited Zanzibar, I saw how badly swimming with dolphins in the wild can go too. That’s why I was so happy to have found Wildquest, on Bimini island in The Bahamas, a little tropical paradise where you can swim with wild dolphins responsibly. For my 20th birthday present, I got to visit and make my dream a reality!
I’ve been wanting to visit a Greek island for as long as I can remember so I was super happy to have been able to visit Corfu in June. We decided to follow in Gerald Durrell’s footsteps after reading his book My Family and other Animals; the way he described the island meant we had to explore Corfu for ourselves. I’m pleased to say we made the right choice- our week was one of the best holidays of my life. Before leaving, I was a bit worried Corfu would be totally overrun and spoiled by the package holiday crowds that plague much of Europe in the summer. Luckily, we managed to escape the masses and have a real big fat Greek holiday. Mr. Durrell would have been proud.
