Anchored, Amber Cove, Dominican Republic.

I slept most of the sea day away yesterday, tired from all the flying. For Paul - it is back to work as usual.

At some stage during the day the bridge crew had a quick photographic session for their seasonal greetings card.  The photography department had the staff lined up on the bow of the ship.  Fortunately nobody went overboard!

We didn't get off the ship in Amber Cove - Paul is still getting back into the swing of work and I have still been tired.

It has also been very overcast and rainy. Some of the beach tours literally got washed out when people got caught in the rain. 😱 Fortunately it is very warm so nobody got cold - perhaps miserable though!

Photographs

Amber Cove

 

Scenic drive around the Yorkshire Moors.

The circular routes we took today, more or less.

We didn't waste much time getting up and having breakfast.  We wanted to make the most of our time exploring part of the Yorkshire Moors.


We set off towards Helmsley and took circular drive, anticlockwise, around the moors; absorbing the scenery and beautiful views.  We also passed by the occasional ruins of a castle or monastery.  We have a book with us:  "The Most Amazing Scenic Journeys in Britain" by Reader's Digest so we used their suggested route.  Sometimes we deviated off the route a bit but we would always end up at the suggested villages. 

Towards the end of the first loop of our journey the road took us up a steep road - Sutton Bank - and soon after passing Sutton Bank National Park Centre we got stuck behind a traffic jam.  In the distance we could see a tractor towing a fully loaded trailer carrying bales of hay, the top ones perched precariously, making its way gingerly along the road.  We ended up branching off the road and found ourselves passing the caravan park where we are staying and, carrying on the route back to Helmsley, we saw the tractor again!  The alternative route we took wasn't much faster than the straighter route that the tractor and everyone else took! 

In Helmsley we stopped to have a wander around town and found a tearoom where we sat and had scones and hot chocolate. Yum.  We saw Helmsley Castle from a distance.  The gate was locked today so we couldn't go in to visit.  Pity.

There were still some hours of daylight left so we did another, different, circular drive through the Yorkshire Moors in a clockwise direction, finishing back at the campsite.  Again we were not disappointed.  The roads were very narrow, we came across sheep resting in the middle of the road; and came across farm gates that we had to open and close to gain access to the road.  It was nice though.

Unfortunately we kept on forgetting to take photographs of our drive but at least we did get 3 or 4.

Back at the campsite we found the laundry room and put on a load of washing, keeping an eye on the clock and being mindful of other people who wanted to do their laundry as well.

A nice day out and the National Wool Museum.

Yesterday there was a bit of snow and the hills looked beautiful with their icing sugar-like dusting, but thicker higher up.  We decided to make the most of the day to get out and explore the Welsh countryside but with the National Wool Museum as our goal. 

The 'milk baaa'!

The countryside was gorgeous as we took a winding route along narrow roads; we set the satnav to take us along the shortest route.  Unfortunately I can't really portray the actual route on google maps for you but I have done my best.  Google maps finally had enough and advised me I couldn't alter the route any more! 

The National Wool Museum in Dre-fach Felindre near Llandysul was interesting and we spent a few hours there.  Today there were no demonstrations of weaving on the old machinery but one could have a good idea of what goes on - from sheep shearing to dyeing methods, spinning and weaving the wool; the different grades of cloth and what they were used for.  Unfortunately we didn't take any photographs.

It's snowing outside!  Paul is wrapped up warmly...

We took a different route back but in the end sunset was upon us so we got the satnav to take us the fastest route back to the caravan.

More snow fell overnight.  We were going to go walking with Sue and Ian today but they had to cancel.  They had a lot of snow in Brynmawr and they can't get their car down the driveway - which is on a hill.  So we stayed in our caravan, a small portable electric heater keeping us warm and snug.  It was nice to do 'nothing' for a change, and just sit with a good book.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Usk Reservoir

It is snowing across the reservoir

Countryside

The Brecons in the distance, covered in snow

 

Our caravan this morning - not much snow had fallen

On the road again and an x-ray.

Today's route

Yesterday we took a slow drive from Fairwood Lakes Holiday Park to a campsite on the north side of the Brecon Beacons in Wales, enjoying the scenery along the way.  Pencelli Castle Caravan & Camping Park (http://www.pencelli-castle.com/) is a nice family run campsite with nice views of the Brecons. 

After setting up the caravan we drove over a mountain pass to Brynmawr and spent the evening with friends.  It was good to see Sue, Ian, their human and fur family.

Our caravan

Today we headed back to Brynmawr to see a doctor about a sore finger.   I wrenched my right middle digit (sods law!) during a high speed speedboat ride in New Zealand whilst in Akaroa and didn't get it seen to at the time.  It's still sore so I decided to do something that something had to be done about it because joint is still very sore and swollen on the side of the joint and I've been using a makeshift splint to keep it straight. 

I was referred for an x-ray and we went to the hospital in Ebbw Vale, not far from Brynmawr.  I didn't have to wait very long for the x-ray bit unfortunately the results weren't given immediately.  They should be to hand in about 10 days... oh well.  I hurt my finger three months ago so another wait for the results won't make any difference.  But the problem is ... we will be out of the country and heading to Tahiti before the results are to hand.  So in the meantime I will continue to strap the finger and hope it sorts itself out.  If it is still sore when we get back to England in June, I will see what can be done further.

Snow has been forecasted for tomorrow ! 

It's "broke" but can be fixed - another time.

The garage thought the headlight washer part would arrive on today but it didn't.

According to the law, if headlight washers are fitted as part of the car - they have to be included in the roadworthy test.  If they fail then the car fails the test altogether.  Unfortunately we had to collect the car away today without having its roadworthy certificate because we need head back to the Netherlands tomorrow.  Paul has an appointment on Monday that he has to attend.  We will come back to the UK re-MOT'd later this month to get the part fixed and car.

When we collected the car the technician at the garage advised that the headlight washers were broken and someone had glued them back on, ditto the washer covers (small flat plate cover in the bumper). They are washer and washer covers are only ever taken off for repair or MOT therefore they are easily accessible.  But these were GLUED on!!??

Paul thinks that when KwikFit in the Netherlands fixed the radiator last year (and did a botch job which left us stranded in Croatia ) they didn't know how to remove the bumper so broke things and patched it up in the hope we wouldn't notice.  Paul is not a happy bunny and neither am I.

Reward!

Paul and I made the most of a lovely day to do yesterday's drive in reverse - because we get to see a different angle/aspect to the scenery that we don't see when driving in one direction only.  We were not disappointed and enjoyed our drive.

Our last evening was spent in the pleasant company of Sue and Ian.  Their dog, Kai, is learning new game puzzles that involve a reward at the end.  E.g. putting a paw on a remote button and a feeder doles out a few treats for him if he manages to press the remote button.  Another thing was to move wooden lids, with a paw or nose, over a hollowed out piece of wood to find a treat underneath.  He started to 'cotton on' a bit and work things out.

Tomorrow we head back to the Netherlands tomorrow via the Chunnel.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Brecon Beacons

New puzzle game for Kai

Why is mum putting my treats in THERE?

What do I do with THAT thing?

Something like this?

It flipped over so now what?

If I can just somehow flip the darn thing over or
do something to somehow get my treats....

I jumped on the thingumy and heard the sound of treats
somewhere

Success... oh yummy.

Tigger at the catnip again, almost 'out of it'.