My Blogs including travel logs and sketches

 Who were the Hovellers ? The name was given to a community of fishermen based around the town of Deal in Kent. From the mid 18th Century merchant ships and Men-of-War used the stretch of sea between Deal and the Goodwin Sands, known as the Downs, as a harbour. They would stock up on provisions before venturing out on the trade routes to the Caribbean or India. Sometimes there could be as many as 300 ships waiting for favorable winds. The Downs provided shelter in bad weather, but ships would frequently loose their anchors, or even some of their cargo. Many ships came to grief on the Sands too. The Hovellers changed from their traditional fishing role to scouring the seabed for lost property, thus acquiring the name. They frequently assisted ships in trouble and they saved many lives. However, they also acquired a reputation for pillaging goods, or even sometimes refusing aid. In some cases this may have been justified,  but there are recorded instances where Captains  re...

  Los Lobos is an uninhabited island that lies a few km off the north coast of Fuerteventura. It is a protected area of unspoiled natural beauty. So if you want to " get away from it all ", it is worth a visit. I was staying at Playa Blanca , Lanzarote, from where the island was clearly visible. I wasn't able to find any excursions to it , but there is a regular fast ferry (catamaran) that goes to Corraleyo, Fuerteventura, that takes about 30 minutes to cover the 15 km. I was told that I could get a ferry from there.  Booking was easy. The booking office is a large modern building on the quay, next to where the fast ferry moors up. It's a few Euros less if you book the day before. I got a 9:30 sailing, so I had plenty of time for        breakfast. The ferry to Los Lobos is a very distinctive little yellow boat called the water taxi. It is          moored just along the quay from where the fast ferry docked. I bought a ticket from a ...

  The only time that I'd been to Morocco before was a day trip to Tangiers. Although it had been an interesting experience, I wasn't sure that I wanted to go there again. But we'd seen a bargain; Agadir I'd never heard of it. It's a resort on the Atlantic, 150 miles from Marrakesh. A hotel called The Caribbean Village were doing all inclusive for half the price of anything in the Canaries. Average temperatures are better than the Canaries in January. The flight from Gatwick only took 3 hrs 10 mins, it was supposed to take 4 ! The airport is small, in the middle of nowhere, 25 km from the town. Security was tight. We were herded through passport control, everyone manually checked and passports manually stamped. Our cases were waiting for us, so was our taxi !  Although most of the journey is on motorway, there are speed restrictions, so it took about 40 mins. The countryside looked quite flat and baron.  Our hotel was a few miles away from the town, set in a natural ...