Durham Castle is only open to the public at certain times of the year as it used as halls for Durham University and is also a wedding/function venue. Normally you would have to do a guided tour (which I did a long, long time ago), but due to Covid the tours are now self guided, which appealed to me. It was fairly easy to book a ticket in advance as they are released the week before, and arent snap Read on...
Monday. Went ashore on Wiencke Island, Palmer Archipelago. We hiked over a hill, passed by a strangely sharp edged geometric rock on top of normal looking weathered rocky outcropping, and arrived at the blue Damoy Hut, The hut, established in 1975, supported the airstrip up on the glacier as a summer transit station. It was opened by our guides so that we could have a look inside. It started snowi Read on...
About 10 kilometers from Bolivias capital of La Paz lies the stark, alien landscape of El Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley. Thousands of years ago, it lay at the bottom of the ocean.
The rains and winds of the Andes here have created these unusual formations, making the area almost a forest of stalagmites out in the open.
It isnt a valley at all, but a bizarre, eroded hillside maze of canyons an Read on...
The tiny village of Coporaque is a great way to take in the stunning region & enjoy glorious views of the distant volcanoes, including the active Sabancaya which spews ash into the sky, gorgeous terrace views, flowering cacti, and crumbling stone ruins. We walked through pastures, visited the church which was badly damaged in the 2016 earthquake.
This is a small town located on the right side of Read on...
I had a nice drive up the Rio Pueblo Canyon in the Carson N Forest SE of Taos, New Mexico. I passed the Comalas pay Campground. In the 1980s I had a wonderful dispersed camp (on a very rough dirt trail) there by the Rio Pueblo, before the pay Campground was made. Now this is a great camp location, with few other campers, and a low National Forest camping fee. There are other nice forest service ca Read on...
An early (for us) buffet breakfast had us feeling full and ready to start the warm day heading to Mataranka to swim at Bitter Springs. Unfortunately, a severe road fatality had happened earlier and roads in and out were closed for the day, a very sad tragedy for the town, our thoughts go out to the family and friends of the 2 women whose lives were lost and a solemn reminder to keep safe driving Read on...
Michelangelo Buonarrotti is considered to be one of the greatest Renaissance artists. He is particularly famous for his painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in 1508. He is also famous for sculptures of heads of the biblical hero David, of which there are many copies around Florence especially.
Just inside of Palazzo Ducale, located in Piazza De Ferrari in Genoa, there is part of Andrea Salvator Read on...
August 3, 2018. Heidelberg. Our boat was on the Rhine, but we took a bus to Heidelberg on the Neckar River. Heidelberg is famous for its university and one of the students was our local guide for a brief walking tour of the old city center. Heiliggeistkirche, or Church of the Holy Spirit, in the middle of the market place is a Gothic structure opened in 1398, has a steeple that dominates the old t Read on...
Today I ventured to Poole but not before I ran some errands in Winton and Westborne, which are suburb/surrounding villages of Bournemouth. I bought an all day bus ticket and jumped on buses to and from Bournemouth town centre, the hub for all directions.
The morning began with a proper fry up, a traditional British breakfast in a local pub In Winton. All that was missing was tomatoes. Then I took Read on...
Yesterday when we hunted for tyres, Bryan bought a new battery as his sounds a little slow when starting the bike. Now we have the battery and the spare tyres, everything seems to be working fine. Bryans bike seems to start perfectly every time and the tyres appear to have stopped or at least slowed down their rate of disintegration.
Leaving Carlisle we had a discussion at breakfast regarding the Read on...