Vista Verde Trails & the Sierra de Espuna

I must write a little something about todays adventure prior to the article I am having published in 2 weeks. I have had a fab day. I spent most of it with a lovely group of people, being led around part of the Sierra de Espuna by Paul from Vista Verde Trails. Paul is a good guide and gave us some great tips of safety and he and his partner, Alison, are a wealth of both local and general knowledge. The other guys in the group were all lovely too and my friend / rep surprised me with her sky-high fitness levels - she puts it down to Mamberry, the goji berry and super / nuclear fruit supplement she has been taking for a couple of years.
We walked for 5 hours and I would normally be crippled after that kind of walk (especially as my knee popped out of place last week), but this was the first major walk attended using my nordic poles. I don't want to jinx things but I am feeling surprisingly pain free, lets hope it's not a different story tomorrow :)
It was a shame that the visibility was not so good, but it just means I will have to go back another time - it was just so lovely and I can't wait to take my fiance.

Nordic Walking

This has been one of my favourite activities to date, it was so fun to learn this new skill and the physical benefits were many (great sport for after Xmas):

http://www.roundtownnews.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22738&Itemid=38

Talking of walking, I have just returned home after walking in the Sierra de Espuna for 5 hours! Great scenery, great company, great leader - great day! More will follow once I have wallowed in a hot bath :)

Inverted Crucifix & Superman

What do the funny words in this title mean? ...... They are the pole dance moves that I did for the 1st time last night. So, so cool. I have some funky bruises on my feet and inner thighs but they are worth it!!!!! Got to start taking more photo's.
On the down side, I got home last night and while standing having a drink with friends, my knee popped out (old injury). So no dog walking tomorrow for S.A.T.S who I volunteer with :(



On the upside this means I can concentrate on my article deadline (about Nordic walking), do some course work and shoot some photo's for next Tuesdays digital camera club.
We have poo weather again, but that hasn't stopped Richard going shooting, glad he's forming his own hobby, gutted I can't play on my pole while he's out!
Anyway, here's to a fab weekend with some fab friends that are over from the UK - enjoy folks!

Yacht Maintenance & Anti-Fouling

Every year or two we have to take our yacht, Serenity, out of the water for maintenance and do to something called 'anti-fouling'. When you anti-foul a boat you basically paint the belly (hull) with a substance that discourages growth e.g. barnacles and other marine life. If you didn't do this your boat would not go through the water so well as this growth, creates resistance.
Having the yacht out of the water also makes other jobs easier and we normally use the time to give Serenity a lot of tlc.
One of my friends asked how you get a boat out of the water, so I thought I would show you some pictures.

Serenity backs in to a holding area and a huge crane comes along, two harnesses go underneath her.



Then they lift her out of the water and pressure wash off all the crud.





She's then put on stilts so that we can work on her hull (belly). We paint and polish the sides and clean up the propellers.

I had a really great time whilst being a guest speaker on Fab FM last Saturday. The DJ, Bob, really made me feel at ease and I enjoyed speaking about something I am so passionate about - adventures!! They have asked me to go back in 2 weeks as we ran out of time. This experience has really made me think about media and increasing the net in which my and my activity providers cover. Great things lay ahead.....

Heretat de Cesilia - An Award Winning Winery

I visited this fantastic winery last month with some of my family and fell in love with their produce. Check out this article to read more about the award winning wines produced at Heretat de Cesilia.

http://www.roundtownnews.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22558&Itemid=38

I'm thirsty just thinking about it. Maybe you should enjoy this article with a glass of full-bodied red ;) Yum.