Finally at midnight yesterday Mr Fogg managed to get through on the phone to Emirates customer service about our suitcases. Now let’s just be clear – this was the number we were given for the team that were supposed to be retrieving our bags from the “in transit” container. The conversation went something like this:

Mr F: hi, I’m checking on the progress of retrieving our bags. Here’s the tag numbers. Can you check pls?

Emirates: certainly sir, I just need to do a security check. Can we have your inside leg measurement, eye colour, weight, foot size oh and blood type

After managing to navigate all that the conversation continued:

Mr F: Do you have an update on the bags please?

Emirates: Yes but no

Mr F: Eh? So have you managed to retrieve our bags?

Emirates: Well yes they are here at the airport but we don’t know where

Mr F: But we were told our request to retrieve them was triggered.

Emirates: oh we’ve not done anything with that

Mr F: we fly out of here on Monday though and still have no clothes

Emirates: I’m sorry sir but we have no clue where your bag is and no plans do do anything about that for some days

Mr F: How long will it take?

Emirates: we don’t know

Mr F: but we have no clothes or anything. Can we get a PIR number so we can report to our insurers to be able to claim as we will have to buy clothes

Emirates: oh you should have got that at the airport here

Mr F: your team said they could not issue one

Emirates: That is correct sir. Your luggage is not lost it is here

Mr F: So we can come get it?

Emirates: Oh no sir, we don’t know where it is

Mr F: so can we get a PIR as we are already out of pocket needing to buy more pants

Emirates: I’m very sorry sir that’s not my department. Have you tried washing them?

Mr F: Aaaarrrrrghhhhhh

Emirates: thank you for your call sir

With the flu!! After almost a month in December of colds, laryngitis, hacking cough and tiredness I was relieved to be feeling fab by 23rd Dec. Sadly it was not to last!

By Boxing Day evening both Dad and I had come down with the dreaded flu! Mr Fogg and I had to cancel New Years Eve out (no 6 course taster menu, boo) and we had a quiet night in complete with a heady dose of paracetamol, lemsip and more paracetamol, washed down with ibuprofen and endless tea. Although I was determined to have champagne, which we did, and we managed to watch the fireworks.

After a shockingly bad night. Think zombie roaming the house with a hacking cough, I really really needed to go get some fresh air. I managed a slow short walk down the lane and a picture of a tree. Whoop. back to sofa again though and more paracetamol and more hot tea.

It’s been a pants start to 2024 but things can only improve!

What a trip! It’s been lovely to do another road trip although it’s been a short one with only 663 miles covered since many of the accommodations only offer a minimum 2 night stay and distances between stuff is pretty huge if you want to do a big circuit.

Visiting Vancouver Island was the highlight for me, esp Port Renfrew and Tofino. I love the views of the Pacific Ocean and the Whale watching tour. Squamish had something about it that we really liked but Whistler was disappointing and could just as well have been located at Downtown Disney. High price tourist shops in a twee (and big) pedestrianised area.

We cycled an impressive 18 miles around Stanley Park -THE best fun and better than doing the usual big city shops, and finally we did two big cable cars, one up the Sky Goldola and one up Grouse Mountain. Miles of walking, a stack of yummy waffles for breakfast most mornings and oodles of seafood.

They are not kidding when they say nature on a grand scale, but sadly (or could be positive) the only bears we saw were in an enclosure.

Time to give our waistlines time to rest now and back to that there Blighty and back to work. Boo.

Need to plan the next trip now

Did we mention how EXPENSIVE Canada is!!! Food is very expensive and access to attractions steep, but all in all fab fab fab

Rather than do the usual visit in a big city of streets and shops we opted to hire cycles and tour around Stanley Park for the day. It was awesome!

The hotel gave us a voucher and we were a 14 min walk from the cycle hire place where we picked up bikes with baskets. We followed the cycle paths around the Sea wall and it was great fun.

We cycled 17.87 miles in total starting at 11:15 and dropping the bikes of at 16:15 – so 5 hours exactly. Stanley park is huge and we got lost a couple of times but the cycle paths are just fantastic and really easy to ride on. What a great and different day.

A lovely 2 night visit to Tofino on the edge of the Pacific Rim National Park. It’s a quirky, hippy type of small town full of surf shops and non surfing tourists!

There is pretty scenery all around us and some superb sea food. It’s even been warm today which we did not expect.

Tomorrow we head back to Nanaimo for our last night on Vancouver Island

What a relaxing stay in beautiful scenery. Back to civilisation tonight with a 2 hrs drive to get there and 25 degree temperatures- a bit different to the 15 here this morning!

A wonderful drive out today from Victoria to cover the 92 kilometres to Port Renfrew on the twisty and bumpy BC-14. It’s a hell of a road through a tree covered area with ups, downs, sweeping bends and tight corners. Stopping at Sooke we found a small Sushi restaurant and stocked up on food.

Arriving at Port Renfrew for our restful couple of days beside the Pacific Ocean in a sheltered bay. Complete with pub on the doorstep and our own deck, awesome view and fire pit.

Tomorrow a chance to just chill

Sitting here this morning in sunny Antigua I’ve been reflecting on what makes a good break for us. It’s a game of two halves really. The best breaks being road trips and a chance to move on every day. Then there are the short week long chill out breaks that provide that much needed catch up on chill out time and sleep. But I think over the years we are narrowing down what’s important while away:

1. Peace and quiet – preferably seclusion and no having to share spaces with other irritating holidaymakers -although people watching is very entertaining

2. Our own pool/plunge pool and deck/sitting area. With plenty of seating options and shade.

3. When in the tropics then plenty of greenery – birds, lizards, flowers – ha ha but not very loud tree frogs that chirp at a high pitch all night eh Craig??

4. Good food, access to chilled drinks

5. A place to walk/stroll daily – beach, path, anywhere we can womble (not hike)

6. Wi-Fi – for various reasons

7. A pool to swim in

What’s not important:

1. A Bali beach bed on a beach with other people- this place has one, sounded a great idea but in reality it’s plonked directly behind another Bali beach bed so no view of the sea – boo. We’ll probably never use it

2. Dodgy folk music – are Beatles really folk?? Either way the duo playing music last night in the restaurant murdered the tunes pretty well

3. 08:30 welcome meetings from the holiday rep. Really?? Nope. Ain’t doing it! He finally tracked us down today to check we were “safe”

The ultimate challenge now is that having set the bar so high in the Maldives, nothing comes even close so far! But still, lovely relaxing break and good company (even if someone wants to not listen to me chattering away)

Despite it being a tad windy, what a location we had! Pitched right on the waters edge with views of seals.

We even had a brief glimpse of the sun for at least 2 mins. Sufficient to get the chairs and binoculars out.

The site was a bit basic and their power supply flaky, but the view…