A Simple Life of Luxury

An increasing trend in my daily life of checking various forums, blogs etc is that I have to do a search for various acronyms that people use in their posts that mean nothing to me. One such acronym that I’ve just had to look up is PEBKAC, I had no idea what it meant so a quick search online and I had the answer.

‘Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair’… A slightly humurous way of explaining human errors when using a computer. One that I should know really as I often deal with PEBKAC’s in my professional capacity as a website designer. I’m usually pretty tolerant and forgiving of such problems though and like to lend a helping hand where possible, although it is sometimes tempting to say ’see, it was your fault after all!’

For more variations of the acronym PEBKAC take a look at wikipedia.

Or take a look here for Acronym Books.

As a new YHA member I was looking at the location of Youth Hostels last night and dreaming about the idea of walking around the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path stopping off at the Youth Hostels on the way. I’m not sure if it is possible yet to do this, but I’ve always wanted to walk the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and maybe when Morgan is a little older we’ll do it.

However, Pembrokeshire is just a start, according the CCW work has started on a 6 year project that will eventually lead to an all-Wales coastal path. Walkers will be able go all around the Welsh coastline on a continuous path by 2012, says the Countryside Council for Wales.

Sixty per cent of the coastline is already accessible, but the plan is to create new sections of path and upgrade others to improve access to horse riders and cyclists as well as walkers. Now that gives me some ideas!

We’ve just got back from a ‘proper’ family holiday in Slovenia. We stayed in Kranjska Gora in the NW of the country. It is a small resort town, aimed at snowsports in the winter and wlaking and biking in the summer. We were there at the end of the winter season so the snow wasn’t great whilst we were there, but we did manage to snowboard every day, and then on the last day it snowed properly so at least we got to see it in ‘Winter Wonderland’ guise.

Overall we had a great time. Morgan enjoyed the kids club and the swimming as well as playing in the snow. Anna and I had fun snowboarding, although Anna ended up with a few more injuries than I did! The hotel was nice, the locals friendly and we made friends with some other holiday makers there. I managed to do some geocaching whilst there as well.

Getting there
We flew from Manchester and the drive up went without hitch. We parked at a budget parking place which only cost £13.99 for the whole week and were mini-bused into the airport. We were extra early so had a bit of a wait in the airport but that was our own fault. We then got on the plane and found out that one of our fellow passengers had decided they were too ill to travel, so all the luggage had to be taken off so that they could find their luggage. This meant we missed our take-off slot and were sat in the plane on the runway for an hour and a half.

On arrival in Salzburg we had a small issue getting our luggage as the baggage handlers didn’t seem to know which carousel it was one. After being told it was on a different carousel 3 times by the airport staff and waiting at each carousel for a while it eventually turned up in a pile in the corner of the airport. Once reunited with our luggage we got on the coaches ready for a 3 hour transfer to Kranjska Gora.

On the coach the First Choice rep went through our booking for snowboard hire and lesson and informed us that I hadn’t booked board hire. I definitely had, but they were certain I hadn’t so we decided to sort it out in the morning at the meeting with the reps. Not a great start as we were now worried that I wouldn’t have a snowboard and would have to pay again to hire one.

The Hotel Alpina
Once at the Hotel Alpine in KranjskaGora it was getting on for midnight, so we had had a long day which started at 5am in Ynyslas. Thankfully there was some cold meats, cheese and bread waiting for us along with some biscuits and a drink, so after eating that we fell into our beds. The hotel was really nice, fairly plush, but nothing too special which is just the way we like it as it allows us to relax without worrying about too much. Breakfast was good with a choice a cereals, sausages, bacon, eggs, cold meats and cheese, yoghurts, croissants and bread, along with juice and various coffees etc.

We were booked in for half board and the dinners were nice too, plenty of choice and plenty of it as it was a buffet dinner. Coffees and cakes from the bar were also really nice, and the hotel was well situated just a little way up the hill overlooking the town and right on the edge of the ski slopes. The kids club was also in the hotel and there was storage facilities for our snow-boarding kit.

First Choice - Second Quality
As already mentioned, the snow wasn’t great and things weren’t looking good on the way to the meeting with the First Choice Reps. At the meeting we argued our point that I had indeed ordered and paid for board hire, but they were having none of it and were trying to get an extra 70 Euros out of us. We didn’t give in and headed off to the hire shop anyway, already stressed and ready to argue our point there. As it happens the locals in the hire shop didn’t even look twice and simply gave us the board so we were glad we hadn’t given First Choice an extra 70 Euros! We’ve since double checked our booking and it clearly states Board and Boot hire as separate items, so we did definitely order and pay for it and First Choice were the ones in the wrong.

The meeting also confirmed that the snow wasn’t great and only a couple of lifts would be open. 3 out of the 19 available. One of those was on the world cup downhill black run so out of our league and the other two were on the same slope, so really only one run was open. Of course First Choice were willing to sell you excursions to higher slopes, but not with any discounts, so that would cost another couple of hundred Euros for each day and wouldn’t have worked for us anyway as Morgan was in the Kids Club at Kranjska Gora so we couldn’t head off elsewhere.

We had other issues with First Choice too, as I had booked separate snowboard lessons and kit hire rather than a ‘learn to board package’. This was supposed to give me separate lessons at a higher level to the learn to package, but as it was the end of the season there weren’t enough instructors so I was grouped with the learn to group and therefore didn’t really get any lessons at my level. I brought this up with the rep and he said he’d meet me at the ski-school the next morning. he didn’t turn up and was also never present in the hotel at his allocated times, so I was unable to sort this out. The instructor himself was fine and did towards the end of the holiday try getting me to do a little extra, but overall I didn’t get the instruction that I had paid for, and the First Choice reps did nothing to rectify the situation.

Kids Club
The Kids Club was in the hotel and although Morgan was a little tearful to start with he enjoyed it there and had fun. This was also run by First Choice, but was better than the rest of the service we had from them. The staff were friendly and nice to Morgan and they did plenty of activities depsite the lack of snow.

Snowboarding Lessons
Despite the lack of snow and me being in a learn to board group the group and instructors were good. The first day was a bit of a wash out with slushy snow, rain and an instructor who was a little difficult to understand, but things improved the next day and the group (Me, Anna, Tom, Isobel, Kate, Anna and Estelle) all got on well. I had already boarded a bit so could already do the basics, Estelle had to. Tom picked things up quickly as did Kate and Anna, and Isobel was a skier so caught on quite quickly too. Anna doesn’t normally do these sorts of sports so picked things up a little slower and ended up with more bruises than everyone else, but still enjoyed it and could turn in both directions by the end of the holiday. To start with Tom, Anna and Anna struggled with the button lift and Anna even said that her aim for the week was just to get to the top, but she managed that earlier in the week and from then on didn’t look back. until hurting her arm and having to sit out of the last day of lessons.

Apres Ski
The hotel we were in was part of a chain of about 6 hotels in the resort and we were allowed to use the facilities in the other hotels, so afternoons were generally spent in the swimming pool at Hotel Larix. Morgan loved the pool and the hot chocolates afterwards, and the hotel itslef was right at the bottom of the slopes so we could watch people on the slopes from the pool

Kranjska Gora itself is ideal for families, the whole resort is compact and the main slope that we were on meant that everything was happening in the same place all with easy access to the things we needed. This may have been a little different if all the slopes were open, but for the week we were there it was ideal for use and would be good if Morgan was in ski school too.

I went on a few early morning walks to find some local geocaches too.

We went sledging and built some snowmen too and Morgan enjoyed the snow even though there wasn’t much of it. Typically, just after we gave our hire kit back on the last day, it started snowing heavily and on the morning of our departure the new snow was knee deep, so Morgan and I donned our snow-clothes and got out and played in it a bit before setting off on the coach. It was a shame the new snowfall didn’t come earlier in the week, but I guess there is little we can do about the weather.

We can’t wait to have another winter sports holiday, we would go back to Kranjska Gora again, and may even o with First Choice as they were the cheapest, but we would make sure they get the booking right and wouldn’t rely too much on them for the hire and instruction etc. However, if going to Kranjska Gora again we might go a little earlier in the year to get better snow, or may look to go elsewhere where snow is more likely.

Overall it we made themost of the conditions and the location and had a great holiday, but it could have been spoiled by First Choice if we had let their inefficiencies get to us.

Full details of my snowboard and geocaches sessions can be found in my diary entries at Forces-of-Nature and here are a few photos

Looks as though I spoke too soon in yesterdays post about there being no damage from the storms… Our power went off this morning at around 6.30am. We assumed it was the normal power cuts that we have fairly regulalrly here and that everyone was affected, but once others arose and we asked them we realised it was only us and one other neighbour without power.

We phoned the power company and it wasn’t long before they were here, identified the fault on a pole in our back garden and were up there fixing it. All is well now and I’m back in action… And there was me thinking I’d have a day off.

It’s been a record breaking week as far as the Borth and Ynyslas weather station goes this week. We have recorded both the deepest low pressure with a pressure reading of 953.9mb on March 1oth and the windiest day with a maximum gust of 62.2 knots at 1.42am this morning… Both records since the weather station began recording in 2005.

Thankfully, other than a few bins and bits of garden furniture being blown all over the place we have escaped any damage from the winds. Mind you, visiting the portaloo at 3am this morning was an adventure in itself!

I spent a weekend in North Wales recently and had my first real taste of Youth Hostelling. Steve and I stayed at the Snowdon Ranger Youth Hostel, on the west side of Snowdon. We were in shared room that had 6 beds, but luckily we were the only one in it which was nice. There were other people staying at the hostel, but obviously the owners had put us all in separate rooms, which was good of them.

The rooms were clean and comfortable and the Hostel had a few useful facilties such as a bike store, a really good drying room and of course they offered food. Both the breakfasts and the evening meals were good with plenty of quality food, just the way we like it. The lounge was comfortable too with lots of local interest books and magazones to read and overall it was a good place to stay.

The location is perfect for wandering around Llyn Cwellyn  and the surrounding hills and for some easy walks to the Summit of Snowdon. We chose to take the Snowdon Ranger Path to the summit. I’d never walked up this path before and didn’t know much about it, but it proved to be a quick and easy walk to the summit. The path starts right niext to the hostel, zigzags its way up the first little hill and then levels off a bit before hitting the steeper climb to the Snowdon railway line that comes up from Llanberis. This section of the climb was a little steeper and harder going, but the path is well defined and fairly easy under foot. There were great views down to Llyn Cwellyn all the way up the climb and the views beyond the lake to the surrounding hills were pretty spectacular. We also had a view down the valley towards Llanberis at one point.

Once we crossed the railway line we joined up with the Llanberis path and all of a sudden there were people all around us! Another benefit of the Snowdon Ranger path was that it was quiet in comparison to the paths coming from Llanberis and Pen y Pass. It wasn’t far to the summit from here though. In fact is was such a shrt, quick walk that it almost felt like cheating and is certainly recommended for those who want an easy approach to the summit.

We descended along the Rhydd Ddu path, which again was well defined and fairly easy going. The very top part along the ridge had a few spots that induced a bit of vertigo in Steve, but I don’t think the strong winds (up to 70mph) were helping. other than that it was a nice easy path and once again not too busy.

Climbing Snowdon from the West may not be the conventional routes, but they are easy and well worth the effort. If you stay in the Youth Hostel then this is the obvious way to reach the summit.

Why no photos?? Because I’m useless and forgot to take any!

I haven’t long got back from an outdoor weekend in Wales.

First I drove to Liverpool and Anna, Morgan and I stayed in a Travel lodge for the night so that I could drop Anna and Morgan off at the airport early in the morning so that they couldget the plane to the Isle of Man. I then drove to Dinas Dinlle near Caernarfon where I met Steve so that we could go windsurfing. The wind was pretty strong and in the end we went out at Foryd Bay for some shelter, but even there the wind was too much so we headed off to the Snowdon Ranger Youth Hostel instead.

We then went for a nice walk around Llyn Cwellyn and found a few geocaches before signing into the Youth Hostel. here I realised I had lost y credit card so after a few frantci phone calls I had cancelled the card and made sure no unauthorised transaction had been made. I then had to borrow some money from Steve so that I could fill up with Diesel in order to get home.

After dinner in the pub at Rhyd Ddu we got some sleep ready for an early breakfast and an attempt on the summit of Snowdon. We had an easy walk up the Snowdon Ranger path and back down the Rhydd Ddu path before walking around Llyn Dwyarchen and then up the steep path to the summit of Foel Rudd. Dinner this evening was in the Snowdon Ranger Youth Hostel.

The next day we woke with rather sore legs and after breakfast we headed off to Dinas Dinlle for another windsurf. We started to rig but the wind dropped so we did a geocache whilst waiting around for a bit and then headed off to Betws y Coed where we had a look around the shops. We then went to Llanrwst and had a mountain bike ride around the Marin Trail. Our legs weren’t really up to too much, so we had a nice easy ride around taking in the scenery as we went.

Steve then headed off home and I went to the Betws y Coed Youth Hostel where I was staying for the night. After a chat with the others staying there, a little walk and dinner in the Swallow Falls hotel, along with a phonecall to Anna and as it was mothers day my Mum, I headed off to bed ready for another early start the next day.

Monday dawned with some snow flurries but generally cool and sunny so I had breakfast and then went to the Marin Trail again and despite the very tired legs forced myself around the trail again, before heading off to Liverpool to collect Anna and Morgan from the airport.

All in all a good weekend, the hostels were good, the windsurfing was a little frustrating but the walking and mountain-biking were top class (If I get time I shall write about these in more detail). North Wales is quite a playground really. I think Steve enjoyed himself too, and thanks for lending me some money Steve otherwise I would have been stranded!