The geocaching day

Today's blog post is going to be a long one. I think. I never know until I start but I have just downloaded 274 photographs from my camera so that makes me think I have seen and done a lot of things that I'll want to remember and share on here. So brace yourselves.

You ready? Good... then I'll begin...

Just before the sun rose

My day started, as usual, at about 6am when the need to go to the toilet dragged me out of bed. It was pretty cold however I noticed that my washer had finished its run and so decided that, while I was cold and out of bed, I'd go and hang the washing. The benefit of this was I was actually up before the sun today and so I got a lovely shot of the pre dawn over the mountains just before starting to do the pegging.

Frosty peg box

It must have got really cold last night, though I was snug as a bug in a rug in Julian and didn't notice, as the peg box was covered in frost when I went to start putting the washing out. It wasn't so frozen I couldn't open it, however, so I just snapped a pic and went to pegging.

The sun appears

Clothes pegged out to dry

It didn't take me long to get everything on the line and then, with the morning sun shining brightly down, I went back to bed for an hour or so though I didn't actually sleep, I just lay there chilling and relaxing and enjoying the fact that it was another gorgeous day in paradise. Yeah, hate me.

Hole, blocked

As the title of the blog suggests I didn't actually have very much to do today work-wise as it had been arranged the me, my parents, and my friend would all go out Geocaching and try and find a couple of these caches that my dad had found just north of the local main town. This was not until the afternoon and so I set myself a couple of tasks to get done in the morning. The first one was to block the hole through to outside where the water came in and I used some polystyrene from the washing machine to do this.

The washing up I had collected

The night before I had left a pile of washing up in the sink and the next thing was to wash it all, using my nice lovely hot water from my new boiler. The water pressure was really good and I had to mix cold water in to stop burning myself the boiler was so efficient. The only thing I needed now was a timer so I could heat the boiler at night, when things are cheap, and it had already been arranged that one of these would be purchased today.

Sassy hopping along

After this I decided that letting Sassy have a good space to run around was of a high enough priority for me to clear the room next to Room 13 and let her out. It did not take very long at all for me to get everything potentially rabbit-endangering out and then I cleaned her cage, having picked her up and set her free to run around. She had a total ball and I got LOADS of pictures of her which I could bore you with but I'll just put this one up for you.

Sassy's room complete with boiler box for her

I am very pleased with the space she has and will eventually let her have a room like this all to herself, until I build her area in the front room with the rabbit hole in the wall so she can go on the balcony and dig. I need to get windows in before I'm happy leaving her loose all the time when I am not there though.

The morning rush hour again

As I was admiring Sassy as she explored I heard the jingling of cow bells and looked out the window in time to spot my young neighbour walking his cattle (sheep and cows, and two goats) away from their nighttime restrictions to roam the land (including mine, often) for the day. This is about the most traffic I get every day past my house.

The Special One helping me fill the trenches

The next, and most strenuous, task I had set myself was to fill in all the trenches we had dug sorting the water and I had decided to do this before I had my shower as I expected it to be heavy work and I was not wrong. I had only been at it for about ten minutes when my little lady neighbour came over with the hot milk (very welcome after the effort of moving soil again) and then she shouted the special one to come and help. I must admit I was very grateful for the assistance and we did about half each and his presence really did keep me swinging my shovel as I didn't want to be left behind. He popped back home at one point and brought a small child who I think is his nephew over who watched us and was very pleased when I gave him my football; I'm not going to be playing it unless he comes over so he may as well have it.

This is to stop anyone just walking in

All my strenuous activities complete I then set myself to having a shower for the first time with my new shower stuff and I can tell you it was great to feel myself becoming clean and nice after all that digging, and do it in my own home; such a small thing but such a great thing. This more than anything really makes me feel like I have moved in and I suppose the next big thing is the fencing when I'll feel fully secure all the time that people can't just wander in.

Feeling fresh and clean smelling I checked the washing (still a little damp in places) and made myself a second brew for the day and fried up the last of the bacon. I slipped putting the oil in the pan so also had some cheeky fried bread accidentally; what a shame. While eating I set my working laptop up to check I could log in and download the code over the VPN and it all worked, apart from Outlook crashing but never mind about that. I have since put it away as it is still two weeks til I need to start work.

I was chatting to some colleagues on skype when I heard a car on the land and just presumed it was my friend, with the amount of traffic I get, however it wasn't but I just pulled a deck chair into the sun, put my sun hat on, and suddenly I was dozing for a few minutes. This is what this life is all about, those moments when you have nothing to do and you can just totally relax without any worries. Heaven. She arrived shortly after and, after a little sit in the sun and a potter around to show her Sassy's room and that, we headed down, picked my parents up, and drove off towards town.

We went into the first electrical shop and I bought the timer for the boiler, and I also looked at printers (I have a couple of pictures of my neighbours that I want to print nicely and give to them, and I also need to sort my residency out and that will definitely require a printer) and while I was there I was very distracted by a night telescope however it could not attach a camera so no good for me. After this we were on to the other electrical shop, while hats were purchased for the other members of the party, and I went to look at printers and also for some pots and pans as a house warming gift from my parents. The prices on these was astronomical and so I just picked up two pint glasses (as I need them for beer) and got out of there. One of the people who had helped me with the washing machine was by the till and said hello and asked after it. Funny.

View across the lower lake

And so, after our shopping diversion we drove, following the satnav, towards the closest point it could get us by road to the geocache. This is where the pictures start to get awesome, amazing, and I'm not sure how I'll narrow them down for here. For example, this picture was taken just as we were driving along the road; the place is so damned beautiful!

Where we first stopped

We reached a point very close to where the SatNav said we were close to our destination and parked up and accoutered ourselves for the heat and the walk...

What we would have had to climb

... and then pretty quickly realised that we weren't going to be able to go in the direction the cache was as we didn't have our mountaineering gear with us and anyway I am scared of heights so back into Thomas and further along the road looking for a purported way around the bluff and back up to the target area.

Thomas in the distance

We drove a short while further on and then reached a point where we thought we should strike out on foot and so I parked Thomas up and did a three point turn (which required me to drop into 4WD mode at one point) so he was pointing the correct way to return.

The sun sparkling on the water

We walked along the track a bit and then struck off up a smaller path and round the shoulder towards the other lake and were rewards with some quite stunning views. We could see the main town spread along the side of the lake to our west and just below us a little hamlet on the lake edge served by a foot bridge from the train track and the "road" we had been driving on earlier. The sun was sparkling on the water and it really was something else.

A far off Eagle

As we were walking we suddenly saw, right in the distance, an Eagle soaring on the currents. This was not the last time today that I wished I had picked up my zoom lens and brought it with me as this was the best picture I could get of it; it was a long way off but we watched it swooping around for a fair while before continuing our walk.

Posing with the view

A short distance from where we watched the Eagle from was a promontory with a stunning view across the lake so I posed and got my picture taken there, like a boss, as most of these pictures don't include me in them so how can I prove I was actually there!

Some gorgeous flowers

Some more gorgeous flowers

At every turn there was another lovely sight, including a jay (which I couldn't get a shot of; once again I needed my zoom lens) and these amazing flowers which were just everywhere. After about half an hour of walking and trying to find our way round the headland to get back up to our destination we admitted defeat and made our way back to Thomas; we had definitely seen a sign of the place we were going for so decided we would see if we could get the other side of the amazing escarpment without needing climbing equipment.

We went back up the road and stopped to ask a man with an outstanding and righteous beard the way to our target. I really wanted to get a picture of us together but bottled out of asking however I did see him giving me the standard "Beard Brothers Nod" to acknowledge my efforts. He gave us directions and they proved correct; you can always trust a man with a beard. We drove up through a forest and spotted a bus parked by the next junction we had to take and almost parked there but then I just drove on; Thomas is a 4x4; this is what I bought him for.

What a manly beast of a vehicle

Onwards and upwards and bouncing around and finally over a particularly bad section of road with huge hillocks and we emerged onto a large flat area where it was decided that leaving Thomas was the correct thing to do so we struck out on foot, continuing to follow the gravel and stone track upwards through another wood.

Another gorgeous lake view

As we climbed the views started getting more and more beautiful and I kept stepping off the track to take pictures. The lake was spread out below us and the sun was really glistening on it and making shimmering patterns; you could also see the wind shadows moving over the surface of the water and all in all it was a magical view from every point where you looked.

Ruins at the top of the climb

After some more climbing we reached the ruins at the top of the major path; can you imagine being stationed here in the garrison and having to watch for armies coming from any direction and then respond. It would knacker me out just getting back down from these heights to then have to go and fight! Incredible to think about though.

Stunning view of more of the lake

Our destination lay not with these ruins, but another 500 or so meters further on as the geocache king (my dad) led us onwards and, typically, upwards. What a view met us, however, when we did finally reach the location of the cache. The lake I had driven next to earlier (and the photograph is above) was spread out below us and really it was breathtaking. I must admit I was a little nervous as my dad clambered over the rocks as I was all too aware of the drop just a couple of feet from our position.

The preying mantis, really well hidden

While I was sitting on a rock chilling waiting for my dad to work out where the cache actually was I noticed something moving near where I was sat and I was intrigued to notice a preying mantis climbing a stick. It was so well camouflaged that if you didn't see it moving you really would not see it and I spent the rest of the time watching it, taking snaps (this is the ONLY one which came out satisfactorily) and shouting at my dad every time he walked through the patch of scrub where the little creature was.

Dad found the cache

Eventually, and after much hunting, my dad found the cache and he was very pleased with it, declaring later that he thought this was his favourite cache he had ever done; out of the thousands over the past few years that is pretty high praise. We headed back down to Thomas after this and I drove over the particularly hairy part of the road without too much trouble however we were shown up slightly by a couple of guys in a Lada Niva (no picture, as I bottled it again) who drove up to just below the ruins all the way over bedrock and very very tough terrain in the old battered vehicle. I have long said I want one of those cars and this really reinforced me in this. Never mind.

At the bottom we took a wrong turn and I had to go 4x4 crazy again to drive past a pile of gravel that had been put in the road to stop people going that way and I almost slid into a ditch but gunned the engine and SSSS'd my way out and onto safe ground again. I almost did a handbrake turn but decided against it as my mum was still in the car having elected to give me moral support.

Carp swimming in catch nets

It was decided that we had done enough walking and it was time for dinner so we headed towards a fish restaurant that a lot of people have talked about but I had never been to before. I wasn't sure what to expect and as we arrived and parked a short distance away with loads of cars all around us I wasn't too pleased however when we got onto the boat (the restaurant is actually on a boat permanently moored by the bank) I was very pleased indeed; the setting was lovely, the place was empty, and dinner was swimming in nets by the side of the quay.

Well I wouldn't want it on the floor!

We found a seat, settled ourselves down, and decided what to order. I went for the Carp, having never tried it before, and everyone else picked different things which they were happy with. I looked through the menu and was particularly amused by this novel serving suggestion; I'm not sure how else you're expected to have it.

Mum squeezing lemon on her dinner

We all ate and really enjoyed our meals, though they did come in two servings with me and my friend served first, and then my parents receiving their mains however this did not greatly detract from the enjoyment and we were all impressed with the flavour. Carp is a very fishy fish, quite meaty, and with lots of tiny bones that are OK to eat (I hope, cos I did a few) and a fair amount of thicker bones which I picked out and discarded. It was good, but I probably won't have it again.

The sun low on the horizon

As we ate the sun was setting across the lake and I took a load of pictures of it; actually we all did. After the meal and when we had paid we went to leave and saw that the staff were even photographing it, and we joined them for me. There follows a selection of the best of these photographs.

The sun a bit lower into the clouds 

This is almost purple; I've never seen this before

Suddenly the sky went salmon

And then more and brighter

The final view as we were leaving

What an incredible thing to watch and you can see how I managed to take so many pictures today!

Me with the pirate

At the entrance to the restaurant was a statue of a pirate that I would have had my photograph taken with before but a couple of women were doing that so I didn't want to disturb them. This was a lovely end to a really awesome meal where the food was brilliant, the company fun and the setting just totally stunning.

Proof that the level crossing does actually work

After this it was back to drop the parents off and then over to my house so my friend could get her car and head home. There was only one bit of excitement after this (other than my friend's short cut proving quicker as we overtook a car, and also the fact that we listening to Rodrigo y Gabriella again on the way) and that was that the barriers at my train level crossing were down when we got to them. My friend and I both jumped out and got up on a bank to watch the train passing however for some reason it stopped just short and then they raised the barriers, which caused us to have to leg it back to the car and move as there was one other vehicle waiting.

Finally I have had my first guest (other than my parents, obviously) book flights to come see me and another person is starting to firm their dates up; I am really pleased that a few people will come and visit as a beautiful thing is nothing if it is not shared.

And so I am once again going to sign off after spending far too long typing, and also probably having written so much that most of you won't even get this far; it's a good thing I am writing these blogs mainly with the aim of reading them back myself ;)

Leka Nosht