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More Glimpses Of Paradise: From Palawan To Coron
As we have done every evening in El Nido, we fall asleep to the sound of waves breaking just beneath our balcony almost but not quite drowning out the throbbing beat of club music. The terrific position of our room right on the seafront comes with a disproportionate price premium, these are by far the most expensive digs of our entire trip yet are a long way from being the best, in serious need of some of that premium being spent on a bit of TLC. Cracking view though. A second boat trip – Tour C this time as opposed to our earlier sortie on Tour A – and a…
- Central America, Independent travel, Outdoor Activities, Panama, Photography, Transport, Travel Blog
San Blas And The Guna Yala
Surely Daniel Defoe must have seen the San Blas islands before creating Robinson Crusoe. Surely every cartoonist who ever drew a joke picture of a man stranded on a desert island saw some of these places before putting pencil to paper. These islands of various sizes are almost amusing, so like the stereotypical image of a desert island that they are virtually a self parody. The San Blas islands and the neighbouring mainland territory is the preserve and the home of the Guna Yala, indigenous peoples of Central America with very distinctive looks and, for the women, equally distinctive clothing. After decades of poor treatment, modern times have seen the…
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Paradise Lost: Time To Move On
Michaela’s coming together with the floating log necessitates hiring a golf buggy to explore the island rather than going everywhere on foot, primarily because her oh-so-slow walk gives her a gait which brings both John Cleese and Jake The Peg to mind at the same time. She climbs steps as a toddler would, carefully assessing next move before lifting the first leg and then placing both feet on each step. Golf buggies are slightly odd too: at first the combination of a top heavy centre of gravity and uneven road surfaces with an ever changing camber makes us feel as if the thing will topple at any moment and we’re…
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Beautiful Places #7: Tioman Island
More specifically, Juara village on Tioman Island off the east coast of Malaysia. The setting here is pretty much the definitive paradise island, a modest and peaceful village with glorious sandy beaches backed by palm trees swaying in the cooling breeze, probably the warmest sea water in which we have ever swum, and wildlife providing wow moments every day. We arrived on Tioman after a city break in Kuala Lumpur followed by several days strenuous trekking in the humid jungle at Taman Negara so were ready for a beach break. As well as the gorgeous beach, Juara provides several interesting eateries, mostly just shacks attached to the private homes of…
