tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87099700687860944222024-03-13T03:32:57.739+01:00Life on the ReefThis is a blog about our Life on The Reef. Ten-er-Reef that is - a dusty volcanic island stuck out in the Atlantic ocean somewhere off the coast of Africa. Here you'll find the rambling scribblings of an ex pat windsurfing philosopher, his wife's photographs, and possibly some interventions from their small (but thinks he's much bigger) pooch, Basil. Don't expect too much from The Gnomes though - they tend to be the strong and silent type.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-67507560330867841162016-12-24T12:40:00.000+01:002016-12-24T12:48:03.906+01:00Feliz Navidad del Medano!If anyone is reading this, then we wish you a very happy Christmas from el Medano!
Mt Teide is the highest peak in Spain, and we have a white Christmas here:
Our Christmas tree (nb this is a real wall in our garden, no photoshopping. The bird is one of Nikki's mural paintings) ...
And Nikki has refurbished her art studio for the New Year:
Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-78593610017576893802016-12-16T18:44:00.000+01:002016-12-16T19:08:15.418+01:00An atmospheric web-cam shot of CabezoI wouldn't often describe an image from a web-cam as 'atmospheric', 'moody' etc but there's something about this one of Cabezo, Mt Roja, and El Medano that I really like. Taken a few moments ago at 17:30, normally there should be more light, but that big back-lit mass of cloud is half blocking the sun just as it starts to think about setting over to the right (West).
With thanks to Rudi for Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-79461498920764373182016-11-21T11:48:00.002+01:002016-11-21T11:48:33.265+01:00This made my morning 😀I was taking my dog for his usual early walk this morning, and happened to come across a van with some cool windsurfing graphics parked in the beach car park. Looking more closely I saw that it was Philip Koster's van and I wondered if he was asleep inside. In fact, I'd actually walked straight past him without recognising him. I wouldn't say that he looked 'boring', but he looked quite smart, Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-2135964515980718072016-08-26T12:18:00.000+02:002016-08-26T12:18:12.210+02:00Back to the Blog (with a selection of diary posts from The Canarian Summer)Right then, back to the blog ... I know, I've neglected it for so long ... got distracted ... published two books co-written with Nikki (I'll talk about them at some point) ... started writing my memoir .... done a whole lot of windsurfing ... and Life here on The Reef chugs along quite nicely.
The daily updates that I could have (probably should be: "should have") been posting here were insteadRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-73449569109509077152016-06-24T11:54:00.003+02:002016-06-24T12:01:44.275+02:00"Independence Day"Bad day for the (so-called) "United" Kingdom (including Scotland?) and a terrible day for Europe.
This morning is like waking up to find that The Donald is now leader of 'The Free World'. By the way, according to the BBC, the presidential hopeful is visiting a golf resort he owns in Scotland today. He said it is a "great thing" that the people of the UK have "taken back their country".
A "Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-6194868656804807952016-02-16T17:06:00.003+01:002016-02-16T17:06:48.032+01:00Mucho Viento!Crazy windy today. As I was about to launch with my 3.7m sail (our smallest) someone told me that the wind meter was recording gusts of 54 knots, so I pulled on all the outhaul tension that I could. Walking to the water was hard work, waterstarting / gybing etc were advance maneuvers, and to be honest it was survival mode.
Nikki took some pics at the harbour wall. I like the steel grey light.
Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-8831730428043070972016-01-09T13:50:00.000+01:002016-01-09T13:51:43.742+01:00Chinyero RideChinyero ride with (left to right) Richie, me, Cristine, and Anna (taking pics).
We had to wait while the clouds cleared from the summit of Teide, and while we were posing, a drone was buzzing around above us, flown by another couple of bikers taking airial shots.
This is probably the most scenic of our routes, with a mix of pine forest, black volcanic rocks (we start from the 'Arenas Negras' Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-86201669377658740212015-11-08T13:14:00.000+01:002015-11-08T13:14:22.128+01:00Vilaflor Up-Down Ride ... with a Motor !Beautiful late afternoon, not a cloud in the sky, so Anna and I decided to go up to Vilaflor and do a circular ride that she 'pioneered' a few weeks ago. It starts from our usual spot, but instead of taking the 'motorway' main track, you climb up the road for twenty minutes, then turn off towards Teide onto quite a rough track for another forty minutes of tough off-road climbing, and then Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-28231763174908551402015-10-30T12:15:00.000+01:002015-10-30T12:28:36.436+01:00Afternoon in the RainFollowing my "Morning in the Mist" Vilaflor ride / walk with Nikki and Gizmo (see my previous post), this was the more 'extreme' version (in terms of mud, anyway). In a way, it was also an example of the way that the internet has changed our friendships, and our lives ...
I teamed up with someone who I'd met in cyberspace (on the Boards windsurfing forum). Pablo is a yacht captain who is taking Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-3689058279907355452015-10-25T15:31:00.000+01:002015-10-25T15:31:51.786+01:00Morning in the MistWe decided to take advantage of the extra hour this morning, and get out of town up into the mountains. It's been an oppressively hot & sticky autumn so far, and it was around 25c as we left the coast, so we weren't too upset as we watched the temperature dropping on the car thermometer as we climbed up to Vilaflor. When we got up to the track it was a very refreshing 14c, misty (in the Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-15309564358706821222015-10-17T12:12:00.001+02:002015-10-17T12:20:21.251+02:00Friday 16th October ... Bright and BreezyAfter several weeks of hot, sticky, windless weather, we finally had a storm. A few hours of torrential rain in the morning, followed by bright skies and a building SWly breeze. It ended up being very windy in the afternoon, as Nikki's pics show:
Sand was blowing off the beach onto the water, and getting in my eyes whenever I came near the beach !
In this next one, you can see that there Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-37282376927099470242015-08-09T11:23:00.001+02:002015-08-09T23:01:34.413+02:00
PWA World Cup Event 2015 and Windy El Medano
Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-42561073884412140792015-06-18T13:34:00.004+02:002015-06-18T13:34:57.041+02:00View from my Window
This is the view from the window of my work room. Moving my eyes from my computer screen, I see Mt Teide, actually the highest mountain in Spain. Often it's hidden in clouds, but today there's not a cloud in the sky. I prefer the mountain view to a sea view. There's more to see, and at night the lights come on in the villages above us.
I look out onto the track where I sometimes go mountain Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-10964649601012984512014-12-21T19:11:00.005+01:002014-12-21T19:37:36.066+01:00Final Photos of HouseNikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-3154271614815500162014-11-14T11:38:00.003+01:002014-11-14T11:38:30.088+01:007th weekBlue paint on planters :)
Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-5905764642301225852014-10-23T18:46:00.002+02:002014-10-23T18:50:31.431+02:005th week balcony and new garden fence !Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-54338752103902905422014-10-17T12:57:00.001+02:002014-10-17T12:59:54.392+02:00Week four window in bedroom and start of balcony construction
Window in master bedroom
Living room tiles almost finished, and extra window at end of room
Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-9618675918736946832014-10-05T17:03:00.001+02:002014-10-05T17:03:56.047+02:00Week three planters go upNikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-51450868392800142014-09-26T17:05:00.003+02:002014-10-05T17:11:30.110+02:00House renovation September 26th end of week twoNikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-68169678103509448902014-09-22T23:19:00.002+02:002014-09-22T23:19:28.934+02:00House renovations week twoNikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-9154470173109694752014-09-14T22:04:00.002+02:002014-09-22T23:21:33.537+02:00Photos of our house renovationBefore Photos of Casa la Ola week one...
Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-74905576898909386382014-06-18T17:31:00.001+02:002014-06-18T17:46:08.107+02:00Our book ‘Nobody’s Poodle’ made it into the Guardian Top 50 readers recommended self-published authors list and in the Top 50 Indie Authorland Self -published list 2013/2014.
www.nobodyspoodle.com
Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-60031791250134512602013-08-06T19:07:00.002+02:002013-08-06T19:10:13.678+02:00El medano
Harbour wall El Medano
Rescue jet ski
Jumping
Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-39476285072982724132013-08-03T11:02:00.003+02:002013-08-03T11:02:51.932+02:00A few Pre-Event PWA 2013 photos Friday 3rd AugustNikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-56315518129435421302013-03-05T17:24:00.001+01:002013-03-05T17:24:19.202+01:00MondayNikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0