Thought For Today...

I've been feeling more than a bit sorry for myself lately.... barely able to hobble, let alone negotiate stairs (other than on my backside!), I'm trapped in my home office all day. Darling husband has been looking after me so well.... doing all the house chores, cooking, leaving me with flasks of coffee and healthy snacks to sustain me while he is out at work.

What is really getting to me, is the sudden forced immobility.... no boxercise, no yoga, no Aikido, no power walking, no hiking. I've realised that just about all of my hobbies are active ones. My weekends are usually planned around long walks and sporting activities. I'm stuck indoors all day on a computer for work, so I ache to get out and get active in my free time....

I've had to give myself a stern talking-to! I could wallow in self-pity for the next 6 weeks... or I can change the way I do things and make the best of a change in gear....

#1 This is a TEMPORARY situation. For some people, this is their way of life - due to whatever circumstances, they will never walk, let alone run again.

#2 I'll have a lot of time to reacquaint myself with the Blogging World... I think I've become so caught up with everything else in my life, this blog has just fallen by the wayside. Warning: You may be bombarded with random nonsense, forgotten tales and old photographs over the coming weeks!

#3 I can take up swimming again very soon. It's the only exercise that has my Dr's stamp of approval. And my yoga instructor has outlined a routine that avoids using the damaged calf... so I will be keeping myself limber on some fronts.

#4 All those books I have been meaning to read, those films I never had the time to watch, the TV series everyone has been raving about.... guess what? I now have the time to catch up!

#5 If I behave myself and allow my leg to recover properly, none of my travel plans for later this year will be affected. A trip to the Lake District next weekend to hike to the top of Scafell Pike has turned into a day relaxing in a lovely lakeside Spa.

When life gives you lemons... grab tequilla and salt!

Greek To Me....

Back to warmer climes for a while, with a bit more about my holiday in Greece last Autumn.

The island of Evia is a walkers’ paradise, little known outside of Greece. Old stone paths connect quaint villages tucked away on the slopes of the mountains.  There are ancient ruins, old Roman marble quarries, tiny little hill top churches and beautiful, deserted beaches to be explored. After a hard day of hiking, it was back to our hotel in Karystos, where traditional tavernas along the harbour front vied for our custom, serving up delicious salads, fresh fish and moussaka.

We hiked below the peaks of Mount Ochi to Castello Rosso, a Fort of the 4th Crusade....

Castello Rosso seen from the aqueduct

View on the way up

Castello Rosso - read more about it here

View from Castello Rosso 

Little church

We climbed Mt Kliosi, to the ruins of the ancient Acropolis of Styra...

The evergreen valley of Styra

The ancient gate of Armenians' Castle - read more about it here

Top of the hill of St Nicolas

St Nicolas Church

View on the descent

We hiked higher up on the slopes of Mt Ochi, one of the sacred mountains in Greek mythology, where Olympic Zeus supposedly wedded goddess Hera.

View of the Mediterranean from Mount Ochi

Marble columns - abandoned at the end of the Roman Empire

Karystos harbour at sunset

Karystos harbour - twinkling lights of tavernas at twilight (say that three times fast!)

Things I learnt On My Alpine Adventure...

1. This is not a bad view to wake up to every morning....

2. It's even better served with ice... make that icicles!

3. Fashion be damned! When it's -15 C and a blizzard is howling, you'll wear every item you own to keep warm...

4. Some of us still managed to stay stylish though....

Dylan - our mountain guide's trusty fox terrier

5. I've always struggled walking uphill. Add 3 feet of snow into the equation, and it becomes a real slog....

6. That uphill slog is worth it for the views....

7. And the delicious cake back at the chalet....

There are no calories in cake eaten at high altitude :-)

8. All that snow thankfully makes for soft landings!

My default position... on my rear!

9. Being last has its benefits... especially when snowshoeing! The ones upfront have the hard job of cutting the path....

Follow in my snow prints

10. Mont Blanc is an elusive mountain, rarely seen in winter. We only spotted her once - the rest of the week, she remained shrouded in cloud.

Europe's highest peak (15,771 ft)

Grandes Jorasses (13,805 ft)

Notes To Self....

If you are going to lock yourself out of the house, make sure that you have your mobile phone with you AND fully charged... that way, you can call your brilliant, clever, forward planning husband to ask him exactly where he has hidden the spare key in the ram-jammed, spider-infested garden shed....

If you have an important, early meeting the morning after a stormy night, you may want to set a couple of alarms.... preferably ones that don't rely on electricity and therefore can be the unwitting victims of a power cut. Waking up and wondering why on earth the whole neighbourhood is already on the go when you're sure it not yet 6 AM... only to discover it's nearer 7.30 AM, is not a good start to the day and is likely to send you running around like a headless chicken!

If you want to have "Let's Do The Time Warp Again!" running through your head for the next week or two, book tickets for the excellent production of 'The Rocky Horror Show' currently touring the UK to mark the 40th anniversary of the kooky but highly entertaining musical. You may also want to do some neck strengthening exercises before you go... to avoid the inevitable whiplash that comes with too many double takes at male members of the audience, many of whom looked just a bit too comfortable being Just Sweet Transvestites from Transsexual, Transylvania!