C&M were heading back to Richmond today and we are moving to a slightly smaller Air BnB closer to Takaka for a further three nights.
We are hopeful that the rain isnt an omen of what is predicted in the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne areas as the weather system there appears somehow to be connected to the overcast skies here in Golden Bay.
We had a bit more time up our sleeves so were able to casual Read on...
The other day, I came across a statistic that shocked me: Maturin, in Venezuela, is the 5th most dangerous city on earth with a recorded annual 86.45 homicides per 100,000 residents. Caracas, also in Venezuela, leads the field with 119.87. According to United Nations data, a staggering one third of global homicides occur in Latin America even though the just 8% of the worlds population.
There wer Read on...
Today was a great day with the ladies. In the morning Hope wasnt feeling well so she went to the doctor and I worked on lessons plans from home. Irene took me to the office around 11am so I could print material for the lessons. We grabbed a Rolex for lunch, but this time we added in a pork sausage link. It was a great addition. We joined the ladies in the afternoon for their first official lesson. Read on...
From the Washington Post: Across the country, pollen season is starting earlier and intensifying because of rising global temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations. Previous research showed that pollen season lengthened by 20 days over the past three decades across North America, while pollen concentrations increased by 21 percent. The most affected places were the U.S. Southeast and Midwest. Read on...
Medellins annual Flower Festival is one of Colombias most important regional festivals. Every year the country celebrates its success and the stars of the show are always the silleteros, who have their very own parade.
The silleteros in the festival are flower vendors. They spend the rest of the year farming small plots of land on the misty mountain slopes around The City of Eternal Spring — Me Read on...
Carnival Sunshine arrived off Curaao after 11:00 a.m. on the third day of the cruise. Curaao, along with Aruba and Bonaire (the ABC islands), has been a Dutch possession since the 17th century. Despite their proximity, we found the ABC islands have little interaction with one another. There is no ferry service, for example, between them.
The ship sailed at a leisurely pace along the 30 mile long Read on...
Our spring trip this year was a cruise on the Carnival Sunshine to the Southern Caribbean, visiting Curaao, Aruba and Grand Turk. I had not visited the ABC islands before or the Turks & Caicos, so this was all new territory! We arrived in Cape Canaveral , Florida, the day before our cruise was to sail. As is our usual custom, we drove from Springfield, Virginia, over two days, spending a night at Read on...
The run up through Jefferson National Forest to Covington is recognized as one of the more challenging sections of the route. It is a day of continuous gravel, deep in the national forest, tracking the ridges towards the NE. Very tough if wet. The route planners have it down as one days run. I wanted it in half a day, and then do half of the following days run, up to Williamsville VA. Getting ther Read on...
I had to reach over somebodys fence to get this calm photo. There was no place to sit and absorb the beauty of the views here. Oia is a place in, get the photos and leave.
Took the bus to Oia this morning, seeking THAT photo of the three blue tops of churches. Yeah, I spent weeks working on a puzzle of Oia this winter. It had too many blue pieces, and after the town with its famous churches and Read on...
No alarm, well at least I didnt set one but Jerry did. Even without an alarm I still woke up at 6:00 am, but instead of getting up and looking forward to 9+ hours in front of working, I turned over petted Tarragon and went back to sleep. I didnt wake up again until Jerrys alarm went off at 8. I might have kept sleeping but for that alarm.
It was good that we got up, since the continental box brea Read on...