I don’t want this entry to sound like a holiday report so I will simply offer some highlights in this post. I did a written diary of our holiday with a few doodles and I’m really pleased with it, it’s only for my personal enjoyment but is definitely a fun activity to repeat for future holidays. I noted down observations, things we did, our delight at finishing joint 1st in a quiz, a European vulture landing on deck, dolphins swimming alongside the ship, our menus, spin classes, books read and a portrait in 5 senses of our cruise.

I did a little colour challenge in this holiday and chose a colour to photograph in each port we visited so Cádiz was white, Ibiza green etc.. I simply choose a new colour as we arrived. I was really surprised that even with what I considered to be a difficult colour that I found shades of it all over the area. It also made me look more and search my surroundings, I felt I looked and appreciated the new to me environment and noticed subtle things about each new place. Again another challenge to repeat. My family who were bemused as I started the project also became more invested and enthusiastic as they saw the day’s collage.

There was a bit of a theme which developed on our cruise, caves and tunnels and our awesome world. We visited the caves of Drach in Mallorca, home to one of the largest indoor lakes. I quickly revised my secondary geography facts to remember the difference between stalactites and stalagmites, stalactites hang from the ceiling (c) and stalagmites grow from the ground (g) The highlight of the caves was the short classical concert. A small boat was rowed across the lake with three musicians playing excerpts of classical music. The audience were sat on benches and the lights dimmed with the acoustics of the caves making a beautiful sound. The spine tingling moment for me was when Nessun Dormer was played, it was stunning. I also loved being rowed across the lake, a fun, quirky way to experience an underground beauty.

The World War 2 tunnels in the rock of Gibraltar were equally fascinating and it was so interesting to discover the history of the period, the evacuations, strategic importance of the land. I did find the rest of Gibraltar quite curious, a 6 mile stretch of the UK, English as the first language. using pounds for currency and so many red phone boxes!

All our stops were really good and I continue my love affair with Mallorca, it is a special place for me. I visited Ibiza for the first time and loved its vibe. Cádiz is a beautiful White City and the artisan markets and accessibility make it so easy to explore. In Cartagena I had the best shopping experience, Ale Hop is an amazing shop and my new obsession, and there were great stationery shops too, my guilty pleasure, I am fully stocked up on my supplies for September. I was also able to buy a Christmas decoration in the artisan market here, I always try to do this so every Christmas we can be reminded of our summer adventures. I also came across a Roman theatre in Cartagena which was incredible to explore, if not absolutely draining in the heat and physicality of climbing all the levels of the theatre. As has become a little holiday tradition, we did a Segway tour around Cagliari in Sardinia, another city with lots of history from Roman and medieval times.

An unexpected bonus of our cruise was our position for the eclipse on 12th August, possibly the last opportunity in my lifetime. Fortunately our cruise had a professor of astronomy as a speaker so I enjoyed a really interesting and informative talk earlier in the day on what to expect and then got to see the eclipse for myself. There are no photos except of the glasses. Sometimes you simply need to be in the moment and I am so pleased I focused on the eclipse. It actually felt a very emotional and beautiful experience, a genuine moment of awe.

I had been in a little holiday bubble but when we got back on Friday, I got to my emails and remembered that I had entered myself into a race happening the next day! It had seemed a great idea earlier in the year. I was hesitant about going but reasoned that the distance was very doable and running through sunflowers was on my bucket list. Fortunately a few friends from my local parkrun were entered too so we went together. Running through the sunflowers was fun, however the rest of the course, slightly (!) over at 6.4 km was harsh, with steep hills, uneven hard surfaces etc.. but somehow I still enjoyed it. The set up was great and after there was music, bars and a really chilled atmosphere. I loved that I came home with freshly cut sunflowers as a memento. It was also to raise funds for the air ambulance and after they responded to my husband’s accident I will always try to support them in any little way I can.