Long gap

Life has been hectic, so there has been a 10 day gap since posting. I think there was something happening on the day of my last post, which didn't make it into that post.  We had an e-mail from Sheila about Pam's latest plans to travel in Europe. While most of these plans have not come to fruition in the last 10 or so years, we decided to forestall anything that might happen, so I rang her.

Pam, Roy and Sheila in February 2013

Considering that we saw her just over 3 years ago at Sheila's 80th, I was hoping that no further urgent plans would form, but you can never tell with her. She told me that she was feeling the need to get the three of them (Sheila, her and Roy) together for one last time before they all start popping their clogs.  I suppose one should have sympathy with her feelings, as none of them is getting any younger and perhaps it is important to get together before one or more of them can't travel any more,  However, listening to Sheila not really cherishing the prospect of travelling with Pam, as well as the total unreliability of her planning, sudden changes and inevitable cancellation at the last minute, somehow none of us felt the feasibility of it being too great. I told her as much and now we await what she decides.  Personally, I am fairly sure nothing will happen, just as nothing happened after a lot of talking time and time again in the last 10 or so years. We'll see!!

Two tone rose from the garden

Last Wednesday we went to  visit a rather sick old friend, whom we didn't know was sick. János Hrncsjár was our painter and decorator since we had the properties in the village and a very good friend to boot. I have noticed that I haven't seen him about for ages, and it was only last month that I asked somebody from the village, only to be told that he had a bad stroke 3 years ago and was almost bedridden. Then at the last dinner at the Mill our waitress told us that she was his daughter and how much the old man would love to see us. So we went.  He was so pleased to see us, we spent over an hour chatting and now we decided that we would go regularly to cheer him up and generally be good Samaritans. He is a lovely old man, even being half paralalyzed and well worth chatting to.

A fancy salmon pink rose

On Thursday we had the map making brigade over for dinner and we had an absolutely delightful time with them.  They brought us over a gallon of home made white wine, which was delicious and really dry, just as I like it. Roy cooked an English roast and it went down extremely well.

The lookout tower in Mátrafüred

On that day we also went out to shop at Tesco's and included a small amount of caching into the bargain. we started with a study route with information boards, which was OK, except there was no visible path to go along, so it was a bit jungle-like. Unfortunately an invisible, buzzing something stung me on my face, which was really painful for a while, so that was not a particularly auspicious beginning. We also looked for one around a tunnel, which was missing, got an easy one in a village near the town where Tesco's is and then got a multi in the town where we went shopping. That was Roy's unofficial limit of 4 caches done, after which we did some food shopping.  Still no microwave, it seems they do not make large ones any more.

The view from the first cache

And then on Friday evening Zsuzsi and Robi arrived.  On Saturday, as neither of us entered the orienteering we went geocaching/hiking in and around Gyöngyös. I planned 7, but finally we only did 6. The late summer/early autumn heatwave was still in evidence, so we got so hot by the middle of the afternoon that we cut it short, but all in all the day added up to about 8km for me, a few interesting caches and a fall down a steep, slippery hill side. The first cache was an easy one. Steep hill on the edge of a village where there used to be an earth fort.  Got that by walking up along a serpentine path along old and new wine cellars. Second one was the one Roy and I couldn't find the previous week for the lack of the TomTom. That was in 3 parts, one in the village and the other two just outside. The next two were supposed to be just one, but there we got lucky.  As the heat was getting unbearable, we scrapped a few I planned first and went for the one where we had to walk to it in a forest.  It hought it might be cooler there and I was right.  We also included a springside picnic place where we had our sandwhiches and drank from the spring, which tasted great. Once we were near the cache by an old lookout tower, it occurred to me that there must be another one nearby which I heard about, but did not look up. Yippeeee! It was 2 minutes away.  So we got that one, as well as the originally planned one by the lookout tower. The extra one commemorated the nearby adventure park, which was built into an abandoned quarry and sported lots of different, exiting things for adults and children alike.

Zsuzsi by the big cross  at the second cache

The last two were rather adventurous and by then my friends were slowly, but surely, breaking down. The penultimate cache was one that I didn't attempt the last time with Roy, because there was no way I was going to scramble down overgrown rocks on my own. This time Robi came with me and it was a lot easier than it looked from above. The last one, however,  was definitely not fancied by either of them, but Robi, a gentleman he is, came with me all the same. That is where I fell down on the way back down, because some of the steps built of earth and logs were missing and then having slipped on a bare bit I fell down and hit my back on one of the still intact logs behind me.  Ouch!!

This incident also gave evidence that today's youngsters can be and are just as nice as we fancy ourselves to have been all those years ago. As I fell down I screamed for Robi to come and help me, but instead about half a dozen complete strangers came running from the other direction. They were young people who were picnicking by a lake just round the corner and having heard my cries came running to offer help.  I was really touched. Never again will I whinge about today's youth!! The total tally for last Saturday was 6 caches and about 8km covered on foot. It would have been a lot more enjoyable without the heatwave, but it was still lovely all the same.

Zsuzsi and Robi admiring the adventure park

On Sunday Zsuzsi and Robi have departed for the orienteering and the mapping crew left about the same time we did. This stint in the village was very productive, busy and enjoyable. We are now in town and will only get back next Monday.  We are also busy with guests, things to do, outing, hikes and geocaching, so we can't complain of boredom at all.  I have never knows what boredom feels like and I don't think I ever will!!

Gun and Janne arrived on Monday and we have been rather busy ever since. we went on a walk in town with them on Monday afternoon, which was lovely, but as I forgot to take my camera, so there aren't any photos of it. Tuesday I went to the hairdresser and then I went with them to the baths, followed by a delicious lunch at the Regős, where Roy joined us. In the afternoon we did a down the river ride on the no. 19 tram on the other side, followed by a walk across Liberty bridge and back home on this side on tram no. 2. It got dark before we got home, but the weather was a balmy 24 degree Celsius even at 9pm.  I forgot the camera yet again, so no photos of this trip either!!

On Wednesday we had dental apointments and I didn't feel particularly bright in the morning, so Roy went with Gun and Janne to the Citadel, while I was trying to catch up with stuff and have a rest. That went pretty well, so did the dentist and in the afternoon Gun and Janne struck out on their own and visited the Memento Park, followed by dinner on their own. This gave us a respite and them some privacy. They loved the old communist era statues, which I expected.

Gun and Janne at the Julianus lookout tower

And then yesterday I went on a long hike with them in the Börzsöny, including 3 geocaches, one of them a moving one.  This time I managed to remember the camera, so most of the photos in this post are from this day. Originally I was going to drive, but we changed the transport arrangements to using the train, and that was fun. It took less than an hour to get out there and the hike took us just under 6 hours, we covered 8km, 400m of height climb and took us to some amazing vantage points where photography was amazing in terms of views. We took sandwhiches and ate them at one picnic spot and had fun with the caches too.

The first one was yet another moving one, which wasn't easy to find.  I was under the impression that it was in a usual little kitchen plastic box, but it turned out to be just in a tatty carrier bag. Somebody must have nicked it, but at least he/she left the contents of the box, so we could take that on about a km away and placed it again. In the meantime I found another one in a thorny thicket. What I thought about the guy who placed it cannot be repeated here for fear of offending my more sensitive readers!!

One of the many views from the tower

The last one was near a lovely old lookout tower from 1939, where 360 degree views were vowing everyone. We could photograph a complete 180 degree bend in the river with a medieaval castle on the other side and many fascinating details besides.  While the route up to it was horrendously steep, everybody agreed that the climb was well worth it.

We got back into the village below in time to buy a large bottle of water which was all quaffed down furiously and then caught the train home soon after. We were home well before 6pm, hot, sticky and knackered, but very happy.  In the early evening Gun and Janne took us out to the Regős for a farewell dinner, which was delicious again and this time they could meet the owner of the restaurant, who is a delightul man.

4 of us at the Regős

This morning they are catching a taxi to the airport and we are taking Ian out for a lunch at the Zila. Tomorrow we are off to the Börzsöny again for a narrow gauge train trip with a hike in the middle and on Sunday hopefully I can attend the Hash. On Monday we are off back to the village for a bit of a rest and then getting ready for Canada. Hopefully I'll post before we go, but if I run out of time, only from there.