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Captain Fiendish & The Whirlwind Of Rio: The First 48
In my mind’s eye there is a British Airways employee, let’s call him Captain Fiendish, whose job it is to sneak behind a curtain just after all the passengers are settled in, and twist the AC control until it reaches the setting with an igloo logo as a temperature guide. As a result of his actions, the cabin quickly descends to unbelievably freezing and has every last passenger reaching for a combination of sweatshirt, hoodie and BA standard issue blanket, or, in some cases, all three. We understand the need for the comfort of AC but why oh why is it necessary to make it this bloody cold? Captain Fiendish…
- Africa, Asia, Independent travel, North America, Photography, South America, Travel Blog, USA, Vietnam
Crossing The Line
We’ll be crossing the equator on Monday night this week as we head out for our first ever visit to South America, arriving in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday morning. Perhaps surprisingly this will be only our second ever foray across the equator, our one previous destination south of the line was our honeymoon trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar back in 2013. Given that Rio will be the furthest point south we have so far visited, our thoughts have turned inevitably to the extremities of our previous adventures. The furthest point north so far is St Petersburg, a beautiful and majestic city which we visited in the depths of its…
- Brazil, Central America, Europe, Greece, Independent travel, North America, Photography, South America, Thailand, Travel Blog, USA, Wildlife
Countdown To Rio
It’s that time again. Never mind counting the days, we’re just arriving at the stage where we’ll be counting the hours until we lock the doors behind us and head to Heathrow to start our next great adventure. The exotic, vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro awaits, one of the world’s greatest carnivals about to begin, romantic sounding locations like Copacabana, Ipanema and Corcovado soon to be on our doorstep. It’s a little over a week until the journey begins. After waking up on New Year’s Day many thousands of miles from home in each of the last two years, this feels like a late start for us and the…
- Cape Verde, Central America, Greece, Independent travel, Outdoor Activities, Panama, Photography, Spain, Travel Blog
Volcanoes And Us
Amazing scenes have been unfolding on the TV screen recently, the Earth itself cracking wide open as bright orange fire laps around buildings and rivers of molten lava surge with unstoppable power through the darkness. This is, of course, the latest eruption in Iceland, the land of fire and ice, captured live and beamed in graphic detail straight to our news channels. Michaela and I have always been fascinated by volcanoes, but then who isn’t? Before we’d even met, Michaela had visited Etna and I’d trudged up the slopes of Vesuvius, and we’d both watched the intriguing sight of bubbling sea water and marvelled at what may be going on…
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Just Another Night In The Pub
There’s a keyboard in the corner of the bar, a bright blue guitar leaning up against the wall and an electronic drum machine glinting in the glare of the pub spotlighting. A short stocky guy holds a pint of cider in his left hand as he adjusts the height of the mic stand with the other. Around the room there’s a scattering of couples with fish and chips or a home made pie – short cut pastry according to the menu – and an older guy sitting on what is obviously “his” bar stool, engaging the bar staff in chatter. We can overhear part of the conversation and glean that…
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Time Passing
The sound of a ticking clock makes me think of childhood, and, at the same time, boredom. Maybe it was the grandfather clock at an old Aunt’s house on a family day which would seem both interminable and a complete waste of time while the rest of the gang were playing football or cricket down the Rec. Such days drag when you’re young. Other things were equally disproportionate, like how far away Saturday was on a Monday morning, or how far away four o’clock was at half past nine. At some point in life, the whole thing turns on its head and the years start to race by. When exactly…
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Floods And Frosts In The English Winter
The new year period trudges by and the dawning of 2024 passes with no great celebration, Michaela’s cough has turned out to be a nasty little chest infection which has taken a proper grip. As we watch London’s new year fireworks on the TV, we muse on the fact that we saw in 2023 in Pedasi in Panama and the previous year in La Fortuna, Costa Rica, this time it’s a matter of grabbing a GP appointment and snaring a dose of antibiotics. With the cough still barking but the spirit enjoying a measure of medically induced uplift, we head to Northamptonshire for my granddaughter’s third birthday party where River…
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264 And Counting
Being just a little bit addicted to making lists, we have kept a note of every city, town and village outside of Great Britain where we have stayed since we started travelling together in 2011. Not a list of everywhere we’ve visited, that would be too long a list, but a list of every place where we have stayed overnight for at least one night. One night, though, is enough to qualify. The number currently stands at 264 at the end of the year, so we’ll be hoping to push it beyond 300 during 2024. Putting the 264 into alphabetical order, the list runs from Acton (California) to Zermatt, in…
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Pins And Noodles And Magic Moments: Christmas ‘23
‘Twas not quite the night before Christmas when Norma, Michaela’s Mum, arrived, it was in fact the night before the night before, but with Norma being blessed with a Christmas Eve birthday there’s a need for the indulgence to begin long before any obscure character in red makes his way down the chimney. Mexican – or, for the purists, Tex Mex – food kicks off the weekend with beers, G&Ts and red wine helping to start the fun. Of course, I’m absolutely certain that the booze plays no part at all in the moment immediately after dinner when my inner Mr Clumsy comes to the surface and upends an open…
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That Was 2023
Well, we have to say, 2023 was a pretty good year. After the distraction which called itself COVID which reduced our ability to travel, this proved to be the second successive year in which we really did make our dreams come true. It’s been good. We broke some of our records this year too: number of days travelling (270), number of beds slept in (93), countries visited (18), each of which set a new high. There were some real highlights too, which hopefully we’ve managed to capture below. This is how it went: JANUARY Countries: Panama. Route: Pedasi-Boquete-Boca Chica-El Valle d’Anton-Gamboa-Panama City-San Blas Islands (Pelicano, Aguja, Perro Chico)-Panama City-home Bed…
