Africa
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Michaela’s Favourite Photographs #11: First Light
Tafraout, Morocco, 2016. I have to admit that this one is more my favourite than Michaela’s: I love it not just for itself, but also for what it represents. Out on the edge of the desert, the nights were cold, our breath clearly visible in the crisp morning air as we took breakfast. Within a few short hours the temperature had rocketed and the days were so hot. As we rose early one morning and braced ourselves against the cold, the first light of the day crept down from the tops of the mountains, sunshine creeping down the slopes towards the town…
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Michaela’s Favourite Photographs #10: Quiet Streets
Marrakech, Morocco, 2015 and Bratislava, Slovakia, 2014. Sometimes in the busiest and most manic of cities, it’s possible to turn a corner and suddenly find yourself in a little enclave of peace. It’s hard to accentuate this in a photograph – unless you’re lucky enough for one single person to wander into the quiet alley at just the right moment. That single figure somehow conveys peace more eloquently than a wholly empty street can….
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Michaela’s Favourite Photographs: #2 The Seaweed Farmer
Paje, Zanzibar, 2013. Between the coast and the reef, in the gentle milky waters of the Indian Ocean, ladies farm seaweed, sitting in the water for hours on end before trudging, like this lady, back to shore with their haul. Michaela perfectly captured the loneliness of their working day with this beautiful shot.
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Michaela’s Favourite Photographs: #1 The Lost Tomato
Marrakech, 2015. This one was a stroke of luck, Michaela had no idea that she had caught this tomato in mid-flight until we looked at the photo much later. It was intended to be a shot of the contrasting types of transport ahead of us as we drove back to the airport – only to capture the moment when one solitary tomato made its bid for freedom.
- Africa, Belize, Central America, Independent travel, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, North America, Panama, Photography, Travel Blog, Wildlife
That Was 2022
When we retired at the end of 2019, full of wide eyed enthusiasm about seeing the world and feeling like the entire world was our oyster, we had a vision of what a year would look like. This was of course before we had any inkling that something very nasty was about to escape from China and have something of an impact on those plans. Resourceful as we were in ‘20 and ‘21 (we travelled as much as we could and more than most), 2022 has probably been the first year which really did match the dreams we had at the start. As a year which started in Costa Rica…
- Africa, Asia, Central America, England, Greece, Independent travel, India, Mexico, North America, Photography, Transport, Travel Blog, Turkey, World food
Questions About Travel
Travelling the way we do, in regular lengthy stretches, is not something everyone is fortunate enough, well enough or even inclined to do. Whatever your chosen style of travel, there are some questions which all of us who do so are asked on a regular basis. Like… What do you miss about home? Answer: very little. My stock answer is “proper English ale” which is true, I do find myself craving a good pint sometimes. Michaela meanwhile goes straight for the roast lamb and mint sauce. With both of our families being scattered around the country, we always make a round of visits on our return and probably don’t see…
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Djerba: Rich Jewish History & The Riches Of Street Art
The island of Djerba has a unique and fascinating history of huge significance for those of Jewish faith. Legend has it that when Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed the Temple Of Solomon during the destruction of Jerusalem in 586BC, the fleeing high priests took with them sections of the temple, settled on Djerba and used the remnants to commence construction of a synagogue on the island. Legend or fact? Story or history? DNA testing of the modern day community has revealed a high level of Kohanim lineage – direct descendants of the early high priests, so the story may well be founded on truth. The Jewish community on Djerba has survived and…
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To The Last Place…On To Djerba Island
“Can I ask you something personal?”, he says from behind his camel dinner, in that way that only an American would just five minutes after introductions, “Do you think the guy who runs our hotel is kinda rude?” Well no, actually, he’s been fine, but, as far as Dennis and his cousin Bonnie are concerned, our maitre d’ seems to have failed to have made a connection. As it turns out, Dennis and Bonnie had spotted something that we hadn’t. In the way that Americans do. Because let’s fast forward now to our departure date, when immediately after breakfast a maid bursts into our room without knocking on the door,…
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Oasis: Days In The Sunshine And A Bit Of Morning Glory
Haircuts are something which need consideration when travelling longer term. Now, some who may have noticed that nature has already removed most of my hair will say that haircuts can’t possibly be a source of angst for me – and you’re right, they’re not. But bear in mind that when one doesn’t have much hair, a small amount of growth in millimetres is a large amount of growth in percentage terms – so whilst it’s not angst ridden, the problem is one of regularity. Michaela and her hair is of course a completely different matter, one which involves equal quantities of research, reconnaissance, perseverance and, ultimately, courage. Once through that…
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Empty Roads, Desert Rain & Mirages: Matmata-Douz-Tozeur
It’s fair to say that the journey from Matmata to Douz isn’t the most challenging foreign drive we’ve ever undertaken, with long stretches of empty road cutting a perfect straight line through the desert. In terms of civilisation, there is nothing: a good hour of roadway passing not a single building, let alone anything as grand as a village. In fact the greatest – maybe the only – challenge is the patches where the sand has covered the road, the tarmac has all but disappeared and the grip of our tyres is about as good as a stiletto on a polished floor. At last we reach signs of life as…