Walking the Essex way

My goodness we are at the end of May and the weather really has surprised us. Sis and her beloved has come to spend a few days in Essex way.
It has been a long time since they were last here, they were supposed to have come for a visit last summer but I broke my leg, so it all had to be cancelled but now here we are all again my other Sis Elsa also joined us and it has been lovely to get together.

Yesterday my girls and my little darling came over to say hello to the aunties, We had lunch in the garden it was so lovely to have the house full of chatter and laughter, it took me back to my childhood when we were young in my Madeira and living at home, a home that was so full of music and love and that's just how it felt yesterday when we were all talking sometimes a little to loud at times with all the excitement.

I will miss them when they go back home to Dorset. Next time it'll be our turn to visit them, always love going down to Dorset the walks along the Jurassic are amazing....

Sis Connie right and I on left a few moons ago

My garden

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Walking the Essex way

It has been a while since my last posting, but my friend and I are still doing our early morning walks. We walk through the seasons come rain or shine, some day's we walk for a couple of hours but there is day's that we over do it a little and go for the burn, crazy I know but once we get going we just have to see what is further on, like my friend say's its an adventure!

On Tuesday we take a different route and of course we had to see were it led to so we kept going and 5 hours later we arrive home dragging our feet, but feeling great because we found another interesting footpath... Wednesday we just took it easy and only walked for three hours. The insects are buzzing and the light is getting better....Now not able to walk until Monday...

Walking th eEssex way

My friend and I are still walking the footpaths of Essex way....Yesterday we over walked I met up with Paula at six and we got back just before 11am.. I must say by then, I was dragging my feet.
So today we decided to take it easy and do a short walk... pics from yesterday's walk...

Walking the Essex way

I feel that I am very lucky to live in this lovely corner of Essex.... My little corner of paradise with the beautiful countryside right by my doorstep....
The countryside is humming with life, the birds dashing in and out of nests feeding their young or building their nests, the trees being dressed with their green clothing. And the hedges bursting with buds.... The blue bells in the woods Early purple orchids and many more!

Nature never ceases to amaze me... This week my friend and I walked to the woods and there we found a carpet of blue bells, Anemones, primrose and the beautiful purple orchid.... I was enthralled by all that nature was offering it even gave me Goosebumps. I felt like Alice in wonderland....Oh my oh my....

     

(((Madeira))) plus walking the Essex way

Been back from the Homeland three weeks now! I loved being there and had a really good time with friends coming to visit it was as if I had never left home, but with a different scenery.

We took our friends sight seeing to Pico Ruivo  we even had a walk down the path so that we could take our photos it was a lovely day, my friend Paula loved the mountains, quite a different terrain that we are used to, from there Hubby drove to Ribeiro frio where we stopped for lunch of course it had to be a picnic surrounded by trees. And the last stop was a walk to Balcons miradouro, and then home.


It would've been nice to walk a little farther but I was a little worried just in case I had trouble getting back after all my foot is still adjusting to the walking. Now I am back home and making great progress, foot is getting stronger having resumed my walking through our beautiful footpaths, and the countryside is beautiful  spring is on its way...

Madeira

My stay in the homeland has been really good this time! Have had friends to stay and the company has been good had no time to get bored! Also have been making friends here...
This year  was very fortunate, that my dear brother Luis and his wife Fernanda also came to Madeira from the mainland where he lives, so we had a get together with some of our cousins it was so lovely to have everyone here and we all had a lot to talk about remembering when as children our families used to get together like Christmas.

Once again my homeland has brought back a lot of good memories that I have been treasuring.

Madeira

Its been a month since Hubby and I arrived at the homeland, the weather has been good lots of sunshine although in the evenings the temperature drops somewhat but its expected after all its winter. We had friends Jennifer and Paul to stay they absolutely loved my Island....
We took them for a little sightseeing they absolutely adored Funchal, and Canical I think was one of their favourites.

We also tried Cabo Girao but there was a heavy mist so we could not see anything. I was surprised and shocked to see souvenirs shops, why do they have to spoil that lovely spot with shops, its not as if they were selling typical things, they had drums and bamboo flutes, what the hell is that all about!

Don't they realize that, they are spoiling our beautiful countryside!!!! Madeira has too many souvenirs shops lets not spoil our beauty spots  by introducing all this souvenir shops all over the place the countryside is too beautiful to spoil. with all that crap....Take care and look after the countryside its our duty to look after our patrimony we don't need all this shops springing all over the place and the tourists like me don't really appreciate it....

I come to my Madeira twice a year... Hubby and I are retired and we spend our money here so we are helping the economy, and I take great pride in sharing my Madeira with my friends....But I find it criminal at what is happening to our beauty spots, why do they have to commercialize it so!
Take the Fortress of Sao Tiago!!!Again took my friends there and we had to pay three euros each to see empty rooms with a few pictures on the walls!!! What happen to the Artefacts that was there a few years ago? And had lots more to see and we did not pay to enter...

Oh well that's my runt over!!!!