Today we head south along The Track to Katherine... well they called it The Track when I was here in 1980. I havent heard that term used this time, so maybe its improved. That wouldnt be hard. It was, and still is, the only road into and out of Darwin, and in those days you took your life in your hands using it. If you happened across a road train on one of its hundreds of sharp narrow bends, well Read on...
As I type this entry we are on the train from Inverness to Glasgow, meaning we are now in the final days of our trip. Its a train ride, so hopefully I can get caught up on the last three days. They are shore entries as they were not jammed back days.
After breakfast we headed out in the car to Montrose, the first potential summer retirement home of the day. The drive is getting easier for both m Read on...
TUE, 27 SEP 2022 – Day 2: Golden Circle/Hvolsvollur Valley - Make an early start to beat the crowds on the Golden Circle route. Head to Thingvellir National Park, home to the Parliament Plains and location of Icelands first parliament. Thingvellir also contains the Silfra fissure, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart. The resulting gap is partly filled w Read on...
Took CK Shuttle again from Cesky Krumlov Czech Republic to Passau Germany. Passau is right on the border of Czech Republic, Austria and Germany at the confluence of three rivers. The Bavarian mountains surround the city and create a very rural area dominated by tourism and logging. This is the city where we connect with our river cruise to Budapest. We arrived two days to settle in and get a feel Read on...
This is ony a picture of what the people had to do back in the day to rescue folks shipwrecked on these rocky shores.
We had to backtrack somewhat on our way to the Irish Loop and Portugal Cove South because the highway we wanted to take was gravel. Only about 40 kilometres but we had a rental car and didnt want to take any chances. However, taking the TCH had one benefit. It took us past Salmoni Read on...
I read a lot of Somerset Maugham novels when I was in my twenties. One of them was ‘The Razors Edge. I recall somebody – probably my devoutly Roman Catholic Aunt Chrissie – saying it was on the Vaticans list of proscribed books which, naturally, was a huge incentive for me to get a copy. Another novel was The Moon and Sixpence, which Philip Thody, our French professor at Leeds University, re Read on...
Since my paternal uncle passed away, I was concerned about my father as the only surviving brother. Thankfully, he was fine but my brave trip during the pandemic was a lesson in itself to take care of oneself first and foremost.
Being not sure of travel, I requested some flexibility in my leave which my kind with. I took the test and it was negative. Immediately, I confirmed my travels. I cycled Read on...
Well, today was a visit to the Queen Elizabeth Botanical Garden again, for a full 3 hours. Yes it was hot, but it was worth it. Hope you enjoy the photos of the flowers and trees.
One of the big hits of the day was seeing a huge Blue Iguana on the loose (sorry the photo is only partial of him, as he was making tracks through the brush), and an AGOUTI !! also in the same historical farm area of th Read on...
The line for Ethiopian Airlines going to Addis Ababa did not look promising. Chaos ensued when the flight was called for boarding. One of the passengers was asking people in line if they could carry a bag for her. It was chocolate for her kids and she was over the limit so she couldnt bring them into the plane. I had a layover in Addis Ababa before my flight to Cairo. I intentionally chose this l Read on...
We are in Cabo San Lucas. This is our first time here. We chose Cabo because they do not have a problem with gangs or drug lords and they are keeping their Covid cases low. We flew here on Southwest but at the airport I see planes from every major airline. We rented a car and drove to Cabo. We took the toll road and there was very little traffic. We rented an Airbnb one block from the beach, it is Read on...