Quirky Traveller's Tales

“Whoo – that’s the best meal I’ve had all holiday.” When a teenage boy tells a waitress that, you know something is very right.  When the main ingredient of that meal is a fish you’ve never heard of, in a foreign island far from home, then you know it is probably extraordinary.  But more of that later …

The climate, landscape and people help determine the cuisine of every region and the delicious food in Gran Canaria is the product of all that plus a unique eco-system.  This volcanic island off the west coast of Africa has succeeded in creating an appetising blend of Spanish, African, European, traditional and contemporary cuisine using the freshest and highest quality local ingredients.

Local fish include stone bass, sea bream,, combtooth blennies,  tuna, shark and the huge marlin; adventurous souls go out daily on fishing boats to do battle with these huge sea creatures.  Black Canarian pork is a real treat with rabbit and goat also found on island menus.  Other meat is imported, most especially for the tourist market.  Gran Canaria’s most treasured gastronomic secrets is the sheep and goats’ cheese produced in small quantities. Flor, Mediaflor and Guia cheeses hold the Protected Denomination of Origin label.  Possibly the most well-known are the tasty little Canarian potatoes.  Served in virtually every restaurant, most families have their own special potato recipes to bring out their lovely flavour.  Garlic is another favourite ingredient lending its distinctive essence to a wide variety of culinary delights.

During a week’s family holiday at the luxurious Holiday Club Resort at Sol Amadores my son, his best friend and I went on a fascinating tour into the heart of the island.  It was especially interesting as we were visiting places that were off the main tourist route so we got a sense of how the local live.  What surprised me most was the varied scenery and how every acre of vaguely fertile land is farmed in some way or other.   Large areas of the south-east west coast are used to grow Canary tomatoes, exported to Europe, along with magnificent varieties of peppers, cucumbers and onions. Even in the very harsh, barren areas prickly pears, aloes and various cacti are found, being used in very imaginative ways.

We stopped for lunch in the mountain village of Fontaneles at Restaurant Sibora.  In typically ‘rustic’ surroundings ie lots of ornate, highly carved wood, plenty of fading blue-tinted photos of island sights and some VERY quirky objects the use of which defeated us, we had a suberbly simple and delicious meal.  A starter of spiky peppery onion soup was followed by silky smooth goats’ cheese, delicate fish fritters and ‘Patatas Arrugadas’ and the restaurant’s red Mojo Picon, made with red peppers and garlic, complimenting the salty, dry potatoes most harmoniously.  

Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it for yourself:

Canarian Patatas Arrugudas (wrinkled potatoes)

2lbs approx of small, clean potatoes (floury, older potatoes are fine)  2 tablespoons coarse sea salt

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with enough cold water in to cover and add the sea salt.  Bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes till cooked and soft.  Pour off all the wasre then leave the potatoes to cool in the pan.  This is the most important part of the process – a layer of salt will encrust the potatoes.  Best served warm ideally with Mojo Picon or other tasty sauce.

*** Edit December 2012. Friend Liz who lives in Gran Canaria adds this to recipe (see Comments below): “I am not sure two spoons of salt is enough – I use a lot more! My local recipe says 250 gr salt for 1 kilo of potatoes. They only take as much salt as they want apparently and they never taste too salty.” Cheers Liz!

The main course was a simple dish of succulent falling-apart pieces of pork in a sweetly herby sauce (rosemary I think) and chunky, crispy chips.  The boys finished off with ice-cream and I had a crème caramel, as good as any I’ve ever eaten in Spain.  Clean plates all round.

In a nearby village we found a quirky general story selling an enormous range of local foods including cheeses, piquant cured sausages, flaky pastries including Bienmesabe, made with island almonds, lemon and cinnamon, densely scrumptious cakes, spicy sauces, flower-infused honey, fruit jams, red and white wines and the usual very sweet licqueurs that will be relegated to the back of the cupboard once you get home.  There was also a veritable pharmacy of aloe products all promising various health and beauty benefits.

In the VERY touristy resort of Puerto Rico it’s easy to find ‘English’ type food and not so easy to get find decent local food.  However, it was at Grill Costa Mar (opposite the Fishing Excursion stands in the Port area) that the boys declared their delight at the fishy dishes put before them.  This little gem of a restaurant serves supremely fresh fish straight off the nearby boats.  After smoked mackerel pate, mayonnaise and garlic bread pate we chose the specials – chunky white marlin, wahoo (tastes a bit like chicken – see photo above) and quite simply the best tuna steak I have ever eaten.  Accompanied by some citrusy Spanish white wine and crusty bread rolls it was a sublime meal.  It was the wahoo that produced the “whoo” from my son, perfectly summing up the delicious food on Gran Canaria!

We stayed at the luxurious Holiday Club Sol Amadores on Gran Canaria.  They are members of the Timeshare trade body Resort Development Organisation.  and their owners can stay in a wide variety of different properties around the world.

For the 3rd of the Challenge Zoë activities for Cumbria magazine The Kendal Courier, I was invited to tackle a climbing wall.  Although I live near some of the best mountaineering sites in the country, I’d only tried climbing once before and am a bit nervous of heights. So, with a touch of trepidation, one wet afternoon my teenage son and I went off to the Lakeland Climbing Centre.  Here’s how I got on …

After an explanation of the different climbing experiences the centre offers and a thorough safety briefing, professional instructor Dez helped with putting on the harness and helmet, then took me to the Bouldering Wall.  By the time I was half way round the low level wall, going crabwise hand over hand, I was already feeling a strain in my legs and arms.  What a great workout!  However, I was aware I needed to save my energy for the real purpose of my visit – to get to the top of at least one of the Climbing Centre walls.

We moved on to the first of the novice walls in The Den, perfect for beginners and children.  Dez was very encouraging and made sure I took it at a pace that suited me.  I followed his  instructions, didn’t look down and made it to the top in a few minutes.  Yesss!  What a great sense of achievement; even though I was only a few metres off the ground I felt as if I’d conquered Scafell Pike.  Then it was that act of faith you have to make as you abseil back down.  Loved that bit …

With this success I decided to have a go at the next level in the Main Hall – and this is where, unfortunately, a foot injury I’d got some time before, suddenly started playing up.  I tried for a few metres but sadly had to admit defeat and come back down.  Now the climbing baton was handed over to my son.

Dez took Alex through the same safety briefing and then he set off up the wall, easily finding foot and hand holds as he zigzagged upwards.  He was a natural; shot up that wall like a lemur on speed.   Next Dez coached him up ‘King Kong’, a monster of a wall; at 18m a complicated route up with an overhang at the start to challenge even quite experienced climbers.  Opposite is their 25 metre wall, the highest in England, which gives experienced climbers the chance to hone a wide variety of skills in a safe –and dry – environment.   In spite of having already climbed three walls, Alex made it to the top and was really delighted with his success in such a short time.

At the end of our session we relaxed in the newly opened Creamery Café area with a cuppa and well-deserved brownie.  The centre was completely refurbished and extended recently and has some of the best facilities in the country.  Alex was really chuffed that he’d conquered the King Kong wall and I was pleased to have overcome my trepidation and faced yet another fun challenge.

For more information on climbing and to book a session, visit The Lakeland Climbing Centre.  Read about my previous two challenges for The Kendal Courier; Tank Driving at Holmescales Activity Centre and Learning to Play Golf at Carus Green.

In the first of our ‘World Travel Blogger’ series of articles, American Dr Jessie Voigts, of Wandering Educators, shares her love of travel and art with a look at a very unusual family attraction in the USA.

Looking for a quirky outdoor adventure among art? If you’re anywhere near Michigan, take a day to visit the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. It’s a world-class institution, one of the nation’s most significant sculpture and botanic experiences. Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park was called one of the world’s 30 ‘Must-See Museums’ by Patricia Schultz, author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

Igor Mitoraj ‘Light of the Moon’

Meijer Gardens contains the largest tropical conservatory in Michigan; one of the U.S.’s biggest children’s gardens; arid and Victorian gardens featuring bronze sculptures by Degas and Rodin; a house of carnivorous plants; and an outdoor amphitheater. The internationally acclaimed Sculpture Park includes a permanent collection with works by Rodin, Oldenburg, Moore, Bourgeois, and Plensa. Indoor galleries host changing sculpture exhibitions with recent exhibitions by Picasso, Degas, Butterfield, di Suvero, and Calder. You can attend outdoor concerts, and classes in a variety of subjects.

But what does that mean for a visit?   Come along and see!

When you first enter, you’ll see gorgeous flooring – an art installation that includes bronze fossils of all types. Take a look to the right at the enormous Chihuly chandelier by the cafe. Stop in at the special exhibits, or peek into the classrooms and take a class! Keep on going to the arid gardens for a bit of warmth in the winter. During the late winter months, in the hot and humid conservatory, you can see the Butterflies in Bloom exhibit – it’s the perfect breath of spring!

Once outside, you have many paths to follow, all strewn with extraordinary sculptures. Straight ahead is the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden, in which you can enter through a tiny, child-sized door, or through a regular gate for those of us past the age of 5. You can splash in the pools shaped like the Great Lakes, use all five of your senses, explore with dragons, foxes, and spiders, play in the story telling garden, enter a beaver lodge or a rock quarry, play in a treehouse or a log cabin, and meander through a labyrinth.

This leads to the Michigan Farm Garden, which is based on a 1930s farm, and has a century-old barn, gardens, an 1880’s  farmhouse, sugar shack, and bronze animals to show visitors how a farm might look, back in the day. The vegetable gardens are planted with heirloom seeds.  There are other walks (including one in the wetlands, so watch for wildlife), but my favorite is the main sculpture walk. It’s paved (as is the entire walkway through all the areas, easy for handicap access), and leads through meadows, marshes, hills, a waterfall, lakes, and grasslands to show you sculptures from artists around the world.

Nina Akamu ‘The American Horse’

This is the joy of Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park – you never know what’s around the bend!  For more information visit the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

Jessie Voigts has a PhD in International Education, and is the publisher of Wandering Educators, a travel library for people curious about the world. She founded the Family Travel Bloggers Association and the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program. She’s published two books about travel and intercultural learning, with more on the way.

You can usually find her family by water – anywhere in the world. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Swallows swooped on the evening air, the sky turned a delicate shade of pink-streaked blue and the vino-quaffing audience shushed each other as trumpets sounded across the lawn.

“Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York” boomed menacing Richard III in his famous opening lines, beside a colourful herbaceous border at Leighton Hall.  Is there anything more English and ever so slightly bonkers than risking all to attend an outdoor theatrical performance, especially in the North West?  Our summers can be wet, cool and windy and yet still we book our tickets and keep our fingers crossed for a fine night.  So just imagine what faith The Festival Players must have to travel all over the UK performing outdoors in all weathers.  And on the August evening my son and I went to lovely Leighton Hall to see their all-male production of Richard III, the weather gods smiled on us all.

The gardens of Leighton Hall are a beautiful setting for one of Shakespeare’s most thrilling plays.  Its gothic façade and solid greystone tower provide a suitably historic backdrop and the gardens are a brilliant counterpoint to the cunning machinations of one of literature’s greatest Machiavellian villains.  Director Michael Dyer explained, “The actual King (Richard III) was almost certainly not as evil as his counterpart in the play but the Bard’s imagination gives us a character of engaging flamboyance in a fast flowing tale that cannot fail to thrill.”  This performance had an added realism from Shakespeare’s days – all the characters were played by men, including Queen Margaret, Queen Elizabeth, the Duchess of York and Lady Anne.

“I am determined to prove a villain, and hate the idle pleasure of these days.” David Lee-Jones was a suitably threatening murderer with a charming twist. His knowing glances at the audience kept everyone in on the macabre joke as he used wily words to bend all to his wicked will.  As the light dimmed the play became even more atmospheric, with bats swooping low and owls hooting across the fells.  

He finally met his come-uppance after a very impressive murder-fest, cutting a swathe through the Plantagenet English monarchy in less than two hours.   Leighton Hall had never seen such marvellous mayhem.  By the time he was yelling for a horse, a horse on Bosworth Field (aka the lawn) we were all delighted that he was about to meet his match at the hands of Lancastrian Earl of Richmond (Scott Smith).  The final words of the play echoed out appropriately across the night-darkened, beautiful grounds,

“Now civil wounds are stopp’d, peace lives again:

That she may long live here, God say Amen!”

Leighton Hall, on the Lancashire – Cumbria border, hosts a number of event throughout the year – one of my favourites is the Classic Car Rally.

Corfu, in the Ionian Sea was the inspiration for my Quirky Travels many years ago.  In this article another traveller shares some thoughts on this popular Greek island, during a very challenging year for the economy in Greece.

A recent half-term break was spent in the beautiful island of Corfu with the family and I must honestly say that we had a lovely time. We visited impressive archaeological ruins, ate very well in friendly tavernas, swam in sparkling seas, and the adults drank one too many glasses of ouzo.  On a normal half-term break with the family, none of this would usually be headline news. But given Greece’s economic and political uncertainty, it may come as a surprise to learn that this summer you can still have a typical, enjoyable Greek holiday.

Of course the big difference this year compared to previous years is that due to the country’s economical problems, the number of people using Greece as their holiday destination is down.  Yet still, from our perspective as visitors to the island, everything in Corfu feels normal. Based on our break in early June, I have to agree. Although there were signs things weren’t as busy as the locals would like, the island was far from dead.

At the famous Bay of St. George in northwestern Corfu, the tour guides touting for business were moaning that trade was down, but we still had to queue to buy our tickets from them.  At Corfu in the evening, the insistent exhortations for our custom from some restaurant-owners suggested they were a bit desperate. Yet the most popular bars lining the quayside of the beautiful harbour were filled with young residents of Corfu drinking iced coffee.  On the high street, the focus was more on the Euro 2012 football tournament taking place in Poland and Ukraine, than the state of the euro and the economical problems the country found itself in. All the cafes were showing the games – we were lucky enough to watch England play France, along with a sizeable multinational crowd.

Agios Georgios, a village on the far south-west corner of Corfu, has a lagoon of turquoise water and an offshore island that young children can wade out to – it’s one of the most memorable beaches we were fortunate enough to visit whilst enjoying our half-term break on the wonderful island. On the afternoons we were there, hundreds of bathers were wallowing in the sea. Goodness knows how heaving it must be when tourism is at usual levels.  There are many other lovely beaches around the island.

At five of the six dinners we had in Corfu, we were given not only raki to round off our meal, but also free puddings such as baklava.  In general terms, everywhere in Greece is crying out for visitors this summer, and that means it’s a safe bet you will receive a particularly fulsome welcome if you decide to visit this lovely island.

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What’s Easter all about?  As I arrange small colourful eggs in straw nestled within a wooden trug, the sounds of the Eucharist service from Manchester Cathedral tumble out of the radio; a beautiful voice celebrating Christ’s resurrection.  Teenage son struggles to wake up from a late night’s X-Box playing and can’t face any of his chocolate just yet.  The phone rings: my brother in Menorca calling to say Happy Easter.  It’s warm out there & he’s in his shorts, getting ready to go down to Mahon Port to see some people over for the holidays.  We chat about this and that; just touching base and keeping those family bonds going.

In the kitchen, making scotch pancakes with smokey bacon and maple syrup … seems like a good brunch on a lazy Easter Sunday.  For the first time for almost 20 years I’m NOT having family over for a traditional Sunday dinner (roast lamb & lemon tart) – recovering from flu and want to take it easy.  No-one seems to mind – the world keeps turning …

Text message from younger brother.  He lives in Southport and is having a day with his motorbike mates. We seldom meet up now but the love is still there and on high days and holidays we make sure we say hello.  Leave message on Aunty Beryl’s voice mail wishing her and Uncle John a Happy Easter.  Yesterday we went round to their place in Kendal for Simnel Cake & coffee.  As I’m not doing the dinner they are going out to a hotel overlooking Windermere for lunch with friends.

Remember Mum, who died 10 years ago and is still here in spirit and my son’s happy smile.  Think of  how Dad, gone 20 years now, used to get us Thornton’s eggs with our names etched out in curly icing …

The Archers babble away in the background mostly unnoticed – catching up on a week’s minutiae in Ambridge.  Love the familiarity of a fantasy world where the seasons  are still observed and real life rarely impinges.  Son decides we have to open all the egg boxes and line them up on the sideboard next to the Easter basket.  He phones his Dad and arranges to go round to help him in the garden.  Tomorrow all three of us will go for a walk, maybe to Arnside – don’t usually venture into the Lake District  on Bank Holiday weekends – too many people and anyway we have lots of places to explore right on our doorstep.

Now to get ready to go over to a friend’s house; she’s invited people round to celebrate the opening of her new photographic studio in her back garden. On the way will drop son off at his Dad’s and pick him up later …

And that’s what Easter is all about for us.  Spending time with people we care for, reconnecting with loved ones near and far, and a bit of chocolate indulgence.  Nothing major, nothing world-shattering but simple, important and a reminder that love is what binds us all together …