Darren and Janet

Darren and Janet

ha viaggiato in 34 paesi Leggi altro🇦🇺Adelaide

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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 22
lunedì 27 maggio 2024
☁️ 12 °C
Altitudine: 70 m
Isole Faroe Tjørnuvíksskarð 62.24571, -7.17067862°14’45” N 7°10’14” W
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We're on strike*
27 maggio 2024, Isole Faroe ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
We had a plan for today, but it got scuppered by a general strike of minimum wage workers in the Faroes.... and as there were no cleaners working, the streets were not cleaned, bins not emptied and schools were closed. All the petrol stations bar 1 were also closed, so many bus companies couldn't provide transport, and locals were using their cars sparingly, so the roads were very quiet.

Our plan B was to reposition the boat to Hvalvik (Whale Bay... like the Scottish "wick", Faroese vik = bay), then use a local bus company to drive us to the other side of the island to catch a charter boat to see the Vestmanna bird cliffs and the thousands of birds nesting there.

We returned to the ship for lunch, then headed out in the afternoon to the village of Saksun, then back to Eysturoy Island (this time via a bridge across the Atlantic... much bigger than the one in Scotland) , for a visit to a lookout, and a scenic drive.

Tonight's after dinner entertainment was a pub quiz in the bar, where we came a respectable 4th. *Our team name was "We're on strike"Leggi altro
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ViaggiatoreWell done on the pub quiz, obviously not as many local questions!
27/05/24RispostaTradurre
Viaggiatore Wow, there are caches even somewhere that isolated?
27/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetYes, there's 106 caches spread around the Faroes! The one I really wanted to get was on top of the tallest mountain, but our walk got cancelled 🙁
28/05/24RispostaTradurre
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Giorno 21
domenica 26 maggio 2024
☁️ 10 °C
Altitudine: Livello del mare
Isole Faroe Bojsengarður 62.008863, -6.77314662°0’32” N 6°46’23” W
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Tórshavn
26 maggio 2024, Isole Faroe ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
Late last night we arrived in the capital Tórshavn, which is on the largest island, Streymoy.

The Faroes are made up of 18 islands, all but one populated (one island only has 2 residents!). The major islands are joined together by 4 undersea tunnels, the smaller island are serviced by ferry, and the very small islands by helicopter.

In the morning we boarded buses and visited the village of Kirkjubøur, and the ruins of Magnus Church. The village, like many others and the capital has plenty of grassed roof houses.

Grass roofed houses are very common in The Faroes and are still being constructed. To make the roof, a layer of birch bark is traditionally laid over the roof beams, then a layer of grass upside down (ie grass down, roots up), before the top layer of grass is added right way up. The lower layer gives the roots of the top layer something to attach to.

We returned to Tórshavn and had a walking tour of the old town, before returning to the ship for lunch.

The afternoon was a walk on the adjacent island, from Nes to Æduvik. To get there we travelled through one of the undersea tunnels, 11km in length, and including the only undersea roundabout in the world, known as the Jellyfish Roundabout.

Our walk was described by locals as a "family walk". It was a challenging 4km walk across the peninsula, so more sore legs for us tonight! We walked 11km in total today.

When we returned to the ship we had some free time before dinner, so we went for a caching walk around town in drizzly rain and heavy fog.Leggi altro
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ViaggiatoreNow that's some roundabout! Amazing scenery
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetYes, it's a stunning country. The silhouettes in the middle of the roundabout represent a Faroese circle dance.
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
Daniel Williams That's cool, is there multiple connected tunnels then?
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetOne tunnel splits into 2, to service different peninsulas on the island, the roundabout saves them having traffic lights at the intersection
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 20
sabato 25 maggio 2024
☁️ 12 °C
Altitudine: 5 m
Isole Faroe Funningur 62.286963, -6.96531562°17’13” N 6°57’55” W
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Fun in Funningur
25 maggio 2024, Isole Faroe ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
After a full night's sailing we arrived in the northern Faroes at 7am, anchoring off the village of Funningur on Eysturoy (Eastern Island).

Funningur is a tiny village of 43 residents and 900 sheep, spectacularly nestled at the mouth of a river between two mountains.

Our first plan was to walk to the top Slættaratindur, the tallest mountain in the Faroes. Unfortunately the cloud was so low the local guides decided it wasn't going to happen today, so we went for a shorter hike along the old track between the villages... which wasn't really a marked track, more just a general direction down the side of a hill!

The local community had made a huge effort to welcome us to the village (they only get 3 boats a year), and took us on guided walks around town, stopping at the grass roofed wooden church, and a traditional drying house where we sampled Skerpikjøt, mutton which has been wind-dried and fermented for 5 to 9 months (it had an extremely strong flavour, and isn't for the faint hearted)

The community cooked us lunch at the local school (now closed as there are only 2 children in the village) of fish soup and pancakes (both delicious).

In the afternoon we had an outdoor demonstration of a Faroese Chain Dance, a traditional dance accompanied by singing of local ballads. We were then invited inside the dance hall to take part ourselves. The local men, women and children enthusiastically joined in and sang the ballads with pride and gusto. It was a fun and moving experience.

Final event for the day was singing in the wooden church. Accompanied by a violin and piano accordion, we gave it our best singing in Faroese. Again, the locals poured into the church and led the singing, obviously proud of their heritage and keen to share their language.

The Faroese language has always been a spoken language, but was not written for over 300 years and was banned from church writings (because "God couldn't understand Faroese") and school (because it wasn't considered an academic language).
In 1937, Faroese replaced Danish as the official school language, in 1938, as the church language, and in 1948, as the national language of the Faroe Islands. However, Faroese did not become the common language of media and advertising until the 1980s.

Dinner was back on the ship as we sailed towards Tórshavn, the capital, arriving at 8.30pm... ready to hit the ground running in the morning.Leggi altro
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Daniel WilliamsGood on the town, what an experience! Is Faroese a dialect of Danish then?
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetCloser to Icelandic - it's almost the same when written, but different when spoken. The children learn Danish as a second language, English as third, then often pick up German or French as well! They are keen to stress that they are Danish citizens, but have their own language, their own culture and their own history.
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Crikey!
26/05/24Risposta
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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 19
venerdì 24 maggio 2024
⛅ 11 °C
Altitudine: 6 m
Scozia Ham Voe 60.133761, -2.04848460°8’2” N 2°2’55” W
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Papa Stour and Foula
24 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
The ship sailed overnight and we arrived at the north end of the island of Papa Stour at 7am.

Papa Stour is the most westerly island of the main Shetland group, and has a small permanent population of approximately 15. It's coastline has a wide variety of caves, stacks, blowholes, arches and cliffs. It is among these features we spent to morning cruising in zodiacs and spotting bird and seals.

Our zodiac driver for the morning was Falcon Scott, grandson of Robert Falcon Scott (of the Antarctic), who is the resident historian on our cruise. When we visited Antarctica a few years ago the resident historian was Jonathan Shackleton (cousin of Ernest), so all we needed on our next trip is a relative of Roald Amundsen and we have the Antarctic explorers trifecta!

We returned to the ship for lunch as the ship relocated to Foula Island, 28km west of the main group of Shetland Islands. It is privately owned and has a population of 30.

We anchored off shore and used zodiacs to ferry us to the main harbour, Ham Voe. When we arrived the island was under heavy cloud, but as the afternoon went on, the sun came out and we stripped off layers of clothes until we were down to t-shirts... and wishing we had worn shorts!

We walked around the coastal path as far as the airport , and returned via the main road to the school where the children were selling items to support the school of 5 students.

The swell began to rise as we returned to the ship and we had a particularly hairy (and wet) transfer from the zodiac to the ship.

We set sail just after 5pm for our journey to The Faroes.Leggi altro
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ViaggiatoreMany caches on Papa Stour and Foula?
25/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetUnfortunately zero on both 🙁
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis What does Voe mean? That seems to come up a lot in the Shetlands, erm sorry, Shetland Islands
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and Janet🤣 Voe is harbour
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
John KalaitzisAaah, thank you
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 18
giovedì 23 maggio 2024
☁️ 13 °C
Altitudine: 16 m
Scozia Bight of the Sletts 60.153398, -1.14444960°9’12” N 1°8’40” W
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Shetland
23 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
We woke this morning as we were arriving in Lerwick, the capital and only town in Shetland, on the largest island, Mainland.

Shetland is made up of 100 islands, only 15 are permanently inhabited.
From speaking with our guide, the island group should be referred to as Shetland or The Shetland Islands, but never The Shetlands - the locals are very thingy about that! While we're on pronunciation, the capital is pronounced Ler-wick, not Lerrick. A wick is a square shaped bay, so the W needs to be pronounced.. another advice from the guide!

Our morning tour was a bus trip to Sumburgh Head, for whale and bird spotting near the lighthouse . 3 orcas have been seen this week, but the mist and low cloud made it impossible to see anything!

The weather had cleared slightly when we visited Jarshof, a prehistoric and Norse settlement, but this time there was a range of building remains dating from 2500 BC up to the 17th century AD, all on the same small site.

After lunch on the ship we had a walking tour of Lerwick, mostly in the rain. We visited the museum, town hall and shopping precinct, before breaking off for some shopping and caching of our own.Leggi altro
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ViaggiatoreMiserable day
23/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis A wee bit wet!
26/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis 😲
26/05/24Risposta
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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 17
mercoledì 22 maggio 2024
☁️ 12 °C
Altitudine: 47 m
Scozia Fair Isle 59.532558, -1.62979259°31’57” N 1°37’47” W
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A circus of puffins
22 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
Our wake-up call this morning was the sound of clanking chains as the anchors were dropped off the coast of Fair Isle.

Fair Isle is the most remote inhabited island in the UK, halfway between Orkney and Shetland. The island is 4.8km long and 2.4 km wide and is home to 40 people.

We were ferried to shore by zodiac, with the promise of seeing puffins... and we weren't disappointed! It's currently breeding season and they were busy furnishing their burrows with fresh grass, making multiple trips back and forth to sea to rest. They are much more at home on the ocean, and prefer to spend minimal time on land.

Fun puffin fact - they only have their bright beaks during breeding season, the rest of the year it is grey.

After observing the puffins for a while we walked almost to the other end of the island to the Community Hall, where the locals had put on a spread of morning tea for us. They were also selling their famous Fair Isle knitwear, and souvenirs made by the school. Currently the school has 5 children, but will go down to 2 in the new school year in July.

We walked on a bit further and collected the only cache on Fair Isle, then walked back to the harbour. In total today we walked 11 km.

After lunch on the ship, we returned back to shore for free time. We chose to watch the puffins again, and with far less people this time, the puffins were more active and more numerous, much to Oliver's delight.Leggi altro
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John Kalaitzis Fabulous shot!
22/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Haha
22/05/24Risposta
John Kalaitzis Oh my goodness. Each one gets better!
22/05/24RispostaTradurre
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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 16
martedì 21 maggio 2024
☀️ 14 °C
Altitudine: 3 m
Scozia Kirkwall Ferry Port 58.984446, -2.96389558°59’4” N 2°57’50” W
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Orkney
21 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
After sailing all night, we were woken at 7am to the sound of an Arctic Tern over the ships PA system. We were a few hours south of the Orkney Islands, so had time for a leisurely breakfast before docking.

First event of the day was a briefing about the day's activities, followed by a presentation about Artic sea birds we are likely to see. The expedition staff consists of an historian, botanist, ornithologist, geologist, marine biologist and wildlife photographer, so we'll have lectures on a variety of subjects during our sailing days. The ship isn't quite full, with 87 passengers (capacity is 114) and 84 staff and crew, so almost a 1:1 ratio.

Our arrival port is the capital Kirkwall, on the largest island, Mainland. The Orkney's are made up of 70 islands, with only 14 inhabited. Kirkwall has 10,000 residents and a cathedral, so is classed as a city.

We were scheduled to leave on the last bus, so we had time for a walk around the city, and some caching, before our tour.

We drove across to the west coast to Skara Brae, a stone built Neolithic settlement, older than Stonehenge and the Great Pryamids. It was only uncovered in 1850, so is very well preserved.

On the way back to Kirkwall we stopped at the Ring of Brodgar, a large standing stone circle, like Stonehenge. It originally contained 60 stones, but only 27 are still standing.

Dinner was back onboard the ship, due to set sail at 11pm tonight.Leggi altro
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John Kalaitzis Incredible!
22/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Looks nice and calm
22/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Wonderful
22/05/24Risposta
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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 15
lunedì 20 maggio 2024
⛅ 15 °C
Altitudine: 54 m
Scozia Princes Street Gardens 55.950946, -3.19463855°57’3” N 3°11’41” W
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Sunshine on Leith
20 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
We have most of the day in Edinburgh, before boarding our ship late afternoon at Leith, the port area of Edinburgh.

We began with a city tour of Edinburgh, first touring the new town (not particularly new, it was planned in 1776 to relieve overcrowding in the old town), and finishing up in the old town.

The old town is best explored by foot, and having seen much of the area along the Royal Mile yesterday, we chose to visit the National Museum of Scotland, and had lunch in the cafe there.

At 12.45pm we visited Edinburgh Castle, just in time for the 1 o'clock gun to go off. It's been fired 6 days a week since 1861, initially so ships in Leith harbour could set their clocks by it, but now mainly for the tourists. Edinburgh Castle has 360 degree views over the city and is the city's premier tourist attraction, with tickets often sold out far in advance.

At 4pm we made our way to the ship, leaving port at 6.30pm, headed north...Leggi altro
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John Kalaitzis Much better than the rushed snap from last time
20/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Nice framing
20/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Busy day!
20/05/24Risposta
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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 14
domenica 19 maggio 2024
☁️ 15 °C
Altitudine: 71 m
Scozia Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station 55.949843, -3.18650355°56’59” N 3°11’11” W
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Lallybroch and Edinburgh
19 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Final day of the car hire today, and we have a short drive into Edinburgh.

On the way we visited Midhope Castle, better known to Outlander fans as Lallybroch. The interior of the house is derelict and can't be accessed, but they're raising plenty of funds for restoration by charging £7.50 view it from the outside.

We drove into the city centre to drop our bags at our hotel, before heading back out to the suburbs to drop the hire car off.

We caught the tram back into town and had a walk through Princes Street Gardens, then wandered back to our hotel to check in.

We enjoyed another walk late afternoon, and the streets were even more crowded than earlier, mostly with tourists. Our route took us along the Royal Mile and past Edinburgh Castle, before returning to our hotel for a welcome dinner before starting our cruise tomorrow.Leggi altro
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John Kalaitzis Is that a $15 view or did you sneak in a freebie?
19/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetThat's a freebie from the gate. We were on a time critical mission, didn't have time for the full argument. The $15 view just used a bit less zoom 🤣
19/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis😂😂🤣
22/05/24Risposta
John Kalaitzis Glad you got to see a bit more of Edinburgh than last time!
19/05/24RispostaTradurre
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Giorno 13
sabato 18 maggio 2024
☀️ 18 °C
Altitudine: 36 m
Scozia Aberdour Golf Club 56.05296, -3.29902856°3’11” N 3°17’57” W
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Fife Coast Road
18 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
We only had 80km to travel today, so took the scenic route via the Fife Coast Road.

First stop was St Andrews, the home of golf. It's remarkably open and easy to access the famous Old Course, even allowing spectators to walk across the 18th fairway between groups. It's open to the public to play a round, but can't be booked - players must enter a lottery, and pay the green fee if they are successful - currently £320 ($600) 😮

The rest of the coast road was unremarkable, passing through many villages, but with very few views of the coast, so we didn't make any stops until Aberdour, our destination for the night.

We walked around town in bright sunshine, stopping for ice-cream in the main street. We visited St Fillans Church (built in the 1100's), who claim that Robert the Bruce, who was a leper, visited the church to give thanks after the Battle of Bannockburn. He did so through the leper squint, a vertical slot cut into the outside wall to allow lepers to see the service without mixing with the rest of the congregation.

Next door is Aberdour Castle, thought to be the oldest standing castle in Scotland (also built in the 1100's). The west side of the castle is ruined, but the east side is remarkably intact.

After checking into our hotel, our late afternoon drive took us to St Bridget's Church, a ruined medieval church with views across the bay to Edinburgh, then onto Silver Sands, the most popular swimming beach in town.Leggi altro
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John KalaitzisEye watering green fee at St Andrews! 😲
19/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Didn't fancy a go at the lottery?
19/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Are those houses at the back or part of the course facilities?
19/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetThose are houses, the larger ones in the other photo are hotels, but also outside the course.
19/05/24RispostaTradurre
John KalaitzisThey must earn a fortune from AirbNb when there is a tournament on?
22/05/24RispostaTradurre
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Giorno 12
venerdì 17 maggio 2024
☀️ 17 °C
Altitudine: 6 m
Scozia Dundee Harbour 56.46059, -2.96547156°27’38” N 2°57’56” W
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Ell of a good time
17 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
We farewelled Pitlochry at our usual time of 9am, meandering south for the next few days, back towards Edinburgh.

First stop was Dunkeld, one of the most complete 18th-century towns in Scotland, having been almost entirely rebuilt after most of the original town was destroyed during the Battle of Dunkeld in 1689.

We did a cache-guided walking tour of the town, visiting the cathedral, riverfront and market square. Close to the market square is the Ell Shop (1757), which has an ell-stick attached to one corner, once used to measure cloth and other commodities in the marketplace. An ell is a now obsolete unit of measure which was mainly used in the tailoring business, and was originally the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. To standardise it, Edward I of England required that every town have one official ell-stick, and Dunkeld's is still on display.
(the word ell literally means "arm", and survives in the form of the word "elbow" (arm-bend)).

Lunch was in a cafe in the village of Spittalfield, before continuing on to Dundee for the night.

We drove up to the highest point of the city, known as Dundee Law. (law is Scottish for hill). It has a large war memorial at it's peak and provides panoramic 360 degree views of the city and waterfront.Leggi altro
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Daniel Williams That's some bridge
17/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetYes, that's the railway bridge, just over 3.2km long. The road bridge is further along, we'll cross that on the way out today.
18/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Fascinating and educational. Ticks all the boxes
19/05/24RispostaTradurre
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Giorno 11
giovedì 16 maggio 2024
⛅ 20 °C
Altitudine: 104 m
Scozia Pitlochry 56.703752, -3.73187956°42’14” N 3°43’55” W
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To Pitlochry
16 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
We departed Fort William after a visit to the supermarket and a couple of caches, on the road to Pitlochry for the night.

Our first stop was Spean Bridge, and the Commando Memorial. It was a popular stop for the tour buses, and had the obligatory busking bagpiper setting the mood.

Next stop was Cille Choirill, a 15th-century Roman Catholic church situated in Roy Bridge, a picturesque setting on the side of a hill overlooking Glen Spean.

We stopped for lunch at the local pub and were the only patrons in the bar.

We arrived in Pitlochry around 3pm, checked into our hotel and walked down the hill into town to visit the dam and fish ladder.

The fish ladder is a series of 34 pools over 310 metres which allow the salmon to travel upstream during breeding season, bypassing the dam.

Dinner was at a local cafe, before the walk back to our hotel.Leggi altro
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Viaggiatore That looks cute with the blue windows.
16/05/24RispostaTradurre
Daniel Williams What are they memorializing?
16/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetAll the British commandos killed during WW2 - their training ground was nearby in the Scottish Highlands
17/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis👍
17/05/24Risposta
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Giorno 10
mercoledì 15 maggio 2024
⛅ 20 °C
Altitudine: 4 m
Scozia Inverlochy 56.824185, -5.10285256°49’27” N 5°6’10” W
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Walking Wednesday
15 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Back to sunny days with 24 degrees forecast, so it's shorts out again!

We had a full day around Fort William, so we began with a walk along a section of the West Highland Way, a 96 mile walking trail from Glasgow to Fort William. The section we walked was along the Old Military Road and was the site of the Battle of Inverlochy (1645), one of the many battles between Highlanders and Royalist troops.

We headed back into town for lunch in the High Street (soup and a Scotch pie, while watching a busking bagpiper). We visited the West Highland Museum and browsed the shops, before heading towards Glen Nevis for the afternoon.

Glen Nevis is a valley near Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in the UK), and the most popular walking track is along the gorge to Steall Waterfall, the second tallest waterfall in the UK at 120 metres. It's a 3.5 km walk along uneven terrain, so took us an hour to walk in, and about 45 minutes out, with a steady stream of walkers going in both directions.Leggi altro
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Daniel Williams He's nice, don't see them here
15/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Very impressive
17/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Fabulous scenery
17/05/24RispostaTradurre
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Giorno 9
martedì 14 maggio 2024
☁️ 17 °C
Altitudine: Livello del mare
Scozia Corran 56.721422, -5.23959756°43’17” N 5°14’23” W
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Mull to Fort William
14 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Our final morning on Mull, after grabbing a couple of caches we caught the ferry from Fishnish to Lochaline. This ferry has no bookings, just turn up and wait in line. We got to the terminal 20 minutes before departure, so had no problem getting a spot.

The weather today has turned very Scottish - overcast with drizzly rain all day. Fortunately most of the day was driving, taking the scenic route up the western shore of Loch Linnhe, to Glenfinnan.

Lunch stop was at Corran, watching the ferry go back and forth across the loch.

Our plan for the afternoon was to visit the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the tall, arched bridge made famous by the Harry Potter movies. But it seems everyone else had the same idea. We arrived a few minutes before the steam train was scheduled to travel through, and the carparks were already at capacity and had been closed, leaving many people to park along the main road and walk great distances. We were happy take a snap of the viaduct as we drove past!

We arrived at Fort William and visited Neptune's Staircase, the longest staircase lock in Britain, rising boats up 20 metres through 8 locks.

We walked back into town for dinner at a local hotel.Leggi altro
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John Kalaitzis Difficult to differentiate to the eye
14/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Can't deny where that is. CalMac and overcast skies. Wonderfully typical of Scotland. Nice
14/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Much reversing on this one?
14/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetOnly a couple of small ones. Lot of stopping tho!
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Giorno 8
lunedì 13 maggio 2024
☁️ 16 °C
Altitudine: Livello del mare
Scozia Tobermory 56.621748, -6.06820156°37’18” N 6°4’6” W
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Destination: Tobermory (not the Womble*)
13 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
We had an easy day today, with only a few kilometres of driving planned. We began with a visit to Aros Castle, an abandoned 13th century castle just north of Salen, our base on Mull.

Next stop was a walk in Cill An Ailean, a forested area with an ancient chapel and cemetery.

We continued north to Tobermory, the colourful capital of Mull. The name is derived from the Gaelic Tobar Mhoire, meaning "Mary's well", which refers to a well dedicated in ancient times to the Virgin Mary.

The city centre is concentrated along one street on the waterfront, running between the ferry terminal and the marina, with multiple souvenir shops, a bakery, pub and distillery most prominent.

We snacked on local produce from the weekly produce market at the marina, topping it off with some fare from the award winning fish and chip van by the pier.

On the way home we stopped for a walk in Aros Forest, with multiple waterfalls and views across to Tobermory harbour.

*For those unfamiliar with the 1970's TV show, the main Wombles are Great Uncle Bulgaria, Tobermory, Madame Cholet, Orinoco, Wellington, Tomsk and Bungo)Leggi altro
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Daniel Williams Very quaint
13/05/24RispostaTradurre
John KalaitzisAnd if memory serves, they got their names by sticking their fingers on a map. Not sure where Bungo is though?
14/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Very nice. I wonder if there are rules governing what colour they paint their properties? Must keep up the aesthetic I would hope
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Giorno 7
domenica 12 maggio 2024
☁️ 18 °C
Altitudine: 13 m
Scozia Salen Bay 56.517953, -5.94602856°31’5” N 5°56’46” W
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Mull northern loop
12 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Our day began with a visit to the mausoleum of Lachlan Macquarie, former Governor of New South Wales. He was born on Ulva, an island off the west coast of Mull.

Our drive today took us north, with windier roads and more reversing into passing bays - we had good luck yesterday and could see the upcoming road, but with the windy roads and limited visibility, at one stage we had to reverse 3 times in 10 minutes after meeting oncoming cars.

We visited the aptly named Eas Fors Waterfall, a 3 tiered waterfall that falls directly into the sea. Eas is Gaelic for waterfall, Fors is Norse for waterfall... so it is literally named Waterfall Waterfall Waterfall.

Our lunch stop was Calgary, a hamlet on the west coast (and the origin of the name of Calgary in Canada). We were almost resigned to having snack lunch from our emergency rations, but were very pleased to find a cafe open for lunch on a Sunday! Calgary Bay is also one of the most popular beaches on Mull.

Our route home took us along a series of hairpin turns, part of the course of the Rally of Mull, where the island's roads are closed for a round of the British Rally Championship each October.Leggi altro
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John Kalaitzis Did he die in NSW and they brought him home or did he retire back to his homeland?
14/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetHe resigned due to infighting and retired back to the UK
14/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Great story on the WWW :)
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Giorno 6
sabato 11 maggio 2024
☀️ 15 °C
Altitudine: 11 m
Scozia Tobhain Tuildich 56.328948, -6.41234956°19’44” N 6°24’44” W
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Mull and Iona
11 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
We were up bright and early today to catch the first ferry of the day from Oban to Craignure, on the Isle of Mull.

It's only a 45 minute crossing, so we hit the ground running at 8.15am and headed towards Duart Castle, ancestral home of Clan McLean, built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the straight. Original construction began in the 13th century, but after various periods of siege and abandonment, much of what we see today is a 1911 reconstruction.

The main road around Mull is a single lane road, with passing turnouts at regular intervals, usually 100-200 metres apart. If you meet a car coming in the opposite direction, one of you must stop at the nearest passing bay and let the other through. So progress can be slow, with lots of stopping, headlight flashing and waving to other drivers!

We arrive at Fionnphort in time for lunch at the pub, before boarding the ferry for Iona.

Iona is known as the birthplace of Celtic Christianity, with Iona Abbey founded by St Columbus in 563. It has a small art, craft and tourism industry, focussing on wildlife and nature conservation. There are a small number of roads for locals to use, but no tourist cars are allowed, so walking and cycling are the preferred transport methods.

We returned to Mull late afternoon and drove back to the east coast via the central road. The scenery along the way is spectacular, so we made plenty of stops for photos, caches and animals on the road, arriving at our accommodation in Salen after 5pm.

The hotel we are staying in has a pub quiz tonight, so we had dinner and a night of quizzing before catching the end of Eurovision.Leggi altro
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John Kalaitzis A fixer upper!
14/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Stunning!
14/05/24Risposta
John Kalaitzis I've got that Triffids song in my head which is completely inappropriate. The narrow open road doesn't rhyme as well :)
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Giorno 5
venerdì 10 maggio 2024
☀️ 16 °C
Altitudine: 9 m
Scozia Dun Mor 56.293402, -5.65765956°17’36” N 5°39’28” W
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Double island day
10 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
We started the day with a visit to one of the most recognisable features of Oban, the unfinished McCaig's Tower, which looms over the city on Battery Hill. It was based on the Colosseum and planned as a lasting monument to the builder and designer John McCaig, and his family. Unfortunately he died after only the outer shell was completed and his family refused to compete it, so it remains unfinished.

We drove a few miles south of Oban and visited our first island, Seil Island, via Clachan Bridge. Because the Clachan Sound connects at both ends to the Atlantic Ocean, and might therefore be considered part of that ocean, the bridge is known as the Bridge over the Atlantic.

The hotel next to the bridge is called Tigh an Truish (The House of the Trousers). It’s named this because several years after the Jacobite rebellion - when the British government tried to suppress Gaelic culture, banning kilts, tartan, bagpipes, and language - islanders heading for work on the mainland would change into trousers here and back into their kilts when returning home.

Our final stop, off the south western coast of Seil Island, is Easdale, one of the Slate Islands. Once the centre of the Scottish slate industry, it is dotted with disused quarries which filled up with water following a storm in 1850 and were abandoned. The island has no roads, and a population of 60 permanent residents, and has hosted the World Stone Skimming Championships since 1997. It is the smallest inhabited island of the Inner Hebrides.Leggi altro
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Daniel Williams Looks like she's ready for maintenance
10/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Magnificent shot
10/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Fabulous!
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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 4
giovedì 9 maggio 2024
☁️ 12 °C
Altitudine: 10 m
Scozia River Coe 56.68216, -5.10049656°40’56” N 5°6’2” W
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To the highlands and back
9 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
We woke up this morning to the first rain of the trip and the temperature had dropped considerably with it.

We left Dumbarton and travelled up the narrow, winding road along the western shore of Loch Lomond, before continuing north towards Glencoe, the skiing and bushwalking centre of Scotland, and the start of the Highlands. The clouds got lower, the traffic got heavier and the scenery more spectacular at every turn.

We stopped for lunch at Kings House Hotel, which is a popular stop for bushwalkers on multi day hikes, before continuing on to Glencoe and a walk down the main street.

We then headed back south towards Oban, our destination for the night... but not without stopping first at Castle Stalker, an island castle best known in popular culture as "The Castle Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Dinner tonight was at the Oban Wetherspoons, part of the chain of 850 pubs across the UK. Fun fact, each Wetherspoons pub has unique carpet, representative of either the building or location. I've included a photo of the Oban threads for the record 😁Leggi altro
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Daniel Williams "Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries"
09/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetWe could almost hear those words...
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Daniel Williams Nautical themed?
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Giorno 3
mercoledì 8 maggio 2024
☁️ 17 °C
Altitudine: 17 m
Scozia Dumbuck Hill 55.93556, -4.52493655°56’8” N 4°31’30” W
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Bowling to Dumbarton
8 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
We started the day with a visit to Robert Burns' mausoleum in the grounds of St Michael's church in Dumfries. The mausoleum is quite out of place in the cemetery as it's the only thing painted white.

We drove on the minor road towards Glasgow, then joined the motorway to skirt the city, heading to the northern bank of the Clyde River.

First stop was the linear village of Bowling, hemmed in between the mountains and the River Clyde, with a harbour and locks leading to the Forth and Clyde Canal. The canal opened in 1790 and provided a route for the seagoing vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. This allowed navigation from the port of Glasgow on the west coast to Edinburgh on the east coast.

After coffee and cake at the lock we continued to Dumbarton, our stop for the night. We visited Dumbarton Castle, which sits upon Dumbarton Rock, a natural fortress overlooking the River Clyde. The castle last saw action during World War 2, when anti-aircraft guns were placed there to protect the nearby shipyards from German bombing.Leggi altro
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John Kalaitzis It certainly stands out
09/05/24RispostaTradurre
John Kalaitzis Shorts and tea shirt. Crikey!
09/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetOch aye - it was a balmy 17
09/05/24RispostaTradurre
John KalaitzisEven more crikey!
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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 2
martedì 7 maggio 2024
☁️ 17 °C
Altitudine: 16 m
Scozia Dumfries 55.067836, -3.60998355°4’4” N 3°36’36” W
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Queen of the South
7 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Our flight arrived in Manchester later than expected, then we had delays collecting our hire car (but we did get an upgrade!), so we didn't set off north until nearly midday.

Traffic was heavy on the motorway, until we reached the rolling hills between the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, then and onto Gretna Green, just over the border.

After a visit to the famous Blacksmiths Shop, where runaway couples from England have wed since 1754, we headed towards Dumfries for the night.

Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South, which is also the name of their soccer team in the Scottish leagues. It was the birthplace and childhood home of JM Barrie (author of Peter Pan), resting place of Robbie Burns, Scotland's National Poet, and, less famously, home of Alex Graham, creator of the Fred Basset cartoon.

We walked through the historical centre, along the River Nith and had dinner at a local pub , before walking back to our hotel to watch the Eurovision song contest semi final.Leggi altro
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Viaggiatore👍
07/05/24Risposta
John Kalaitzis Is it only famous because it tell us so? Sure we all know people eloped to marry at Gretna but did we know the precise location? Maybe it's just me :)
07/05/24RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetFamous in their own marketing! I wasn't aware the blacksmith was the destination.
08/05/24RispostaTradurre
John KalaitzisI'm glad it wasn't just me and I'd missed the important Gretna trivia
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Scotland, Faroes, Romania 2024 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 1
lunedì 6 maggio 2024
☀️ 32 °C
Altitudine: 23 m
Singapore Singapore Changi Airport 1.355105, 103.9853131°21’18” N 103°59’7” E
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Changi transit
6 maggio 2024, Singapore ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
After an overnight stay at the airport hotel, our 9am flight to Singapore was comfortable and uneventful - the only way flights should be!

We have an 11 hour transit in Singapore, so took advantage of their free bike hire from the airport. Their suggested trip to Changi Village was estimated to take 2 hours return, but we were barely a third of the way there after an hour... and we'd only stopped for 1 cache 🤣

The humid weather wasn't conducive to fast riding, so we turned around at the water treatment plant and had a leisurely ride back to the airport.

After a walk around the butterfly garden, a shower and a meal, we settled in to wait for our 2.25am departure.Leggi altro
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Viaggiatore👍
07/05/24Risposta
John Kalaitzis No dedicated cycleways? That would have been a bit hairy in the traffic?
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Morocco and Portugal 2023 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 62
domenica 23 aprile 2023
🌧 31 °C
Altitudine: 24 m
Singapore Kampong Kapor 1.307582, 103.8550481°18’27” N 103°51’18” E
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Little India, and away
23 aprile 2023, Singapore ⋅ 🌧 31 °C
Another early morning, this time for a quick visit to Little India before we check out and fly home.

Little India is the meeting point of the local Indian community. It is a snapshot of the sights, sounds and smells of the culture, and was particularly busy around the shrine this morning. Of course our main activity was caching, so we visited the popular (and some less popular) areas of the city within a city.

We caught the train to the airport early afternoon in readiness for our overnight flight home.

Cache count for the trip: 627Leggi altro
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ViaggiatoreThat's about 10 caches a day! You've had an amazing holiday, look forward to pics of your next adventures 😀
23/04/23RispostaTradurre
Darren and JanetYes, we had some lean days in Morocco with only 1, but had some 20+ days in Portugal and Germany to make up for it. Thanks - and yours of Japan first!
23/04/23RispostaTradurre
sam and brucethanks for sharing so many amazing pics! welcome home to the beautiful blue skies of Australia
26/04/23RispostaTradurre
Darren and Janet😘
26/04/23Risposta
Viaggiatore I have seen this many years ago and it still stays with me for some reason :) Did you like it?
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Morocco and Portugal 2023 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 61
sabato 22 aprile 2023
⛅ 31 °C
Altitudine: 42 m
Singapore Singapore Botanic Gardens 1.311332, 103.8140681°18’41” N 103°48’51” E
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Botanic Gardens and the Bay
22 aprile 2023, Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
We took the other method to avoid the heat today and was on the train to the Botanic Gardens just after 8am.

Singapore Botanic Gardens is the only tropical garden to be recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's immaculately maintained and in addition to the 10,000 plant species, is also home to otters, monitor lizards, squirrels, monkeys and numerous bird species (we saw the last 4, but no sign of the otters today).

We walked the length of the park from south to north, and caught the underground back to the bay area.

After lunch in a cafe in the Esplanade complex with views of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, we walked back to our hotel via the Merlion, Fullerton Hotel and stumbled across Rodin's sculpture, The Thinker outside the Fullerton Bay Hotel. Turns out Rodin encouraged wide distribution of his art, authorising 23 copies of his work in marble and in bronze during his life and sanctioning the Rodin Museum to create posthumous editions (55 have so far been created). So there are many versions of The Thinker exhibited throughout the world!

Afternoon swim and dinner at Chinatown again, once the sun had gone down.Leggi altro
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sam and bruce same thing happened to us at the Diana Memorial Playground - Kensington Gardens. I was not very happy about that!
26/04/23RispostaTradurre
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Morocco and Portugal 2023 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 60
venerdì 21 aprile 2023
⛅ 31 °C
Altitudine: 19 m
Singapore Chinatown 1.284099, 103.8434461°17’3” N 103°50’36” E
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Chinatown by night
21 aprile 2023, Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
We woke up to a massive thunderstorm and torrential rain, so had a bit of a late morning... so late it became afternoon until we left the hotel.

We went in search of a cache on the rooftop around one of the landmark Chinatown skyline buildings, we also visited when last in Singapore (February 2020, just as Covid broke out).

The building is known as the People's Park Complex, a 31-storey mostly residential development straight out of the 1970's. Happily we found the convoluted route to the rooftop and the cache considerably quicker than last time!

Dinner was also a flashback, treating Oliver to dinner at a Michelin star restaurant again... admittedly the Cheapest Michelin-starred meal in the world, Hawker Chan - famous for his Soya Sauce Chicken Rice. His hawker stall had closed for the day, so we went around the corner to his shopfront, where 75% of the menu was sold out, but the signature dish still available. Sadly the serve was no where near the size of last time 😕 (here's the flashback - https://findpenguins.com/4ar8jyvngbq0y/footprin… )

Another visit to the supermarket and another night swim rounded the day out nicely.Leggi altro
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sam and bruce beaut - I hope you said the usual "thanks for bringing us here"!
22/04/23RispostaTradurre
Darren and Janet🤣🤣 grimey location, but great view most people don't see!
22/04/23RispostaTradurre
sam and bruce yes its a bit smaller but still looks tasty!
22/04/23RispostaTradurre
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Morocco and Portugal 2023 Darren and Janet
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Giorno 59
giovedì 20 aprile 2023
☁️ 29 °C
Altitudine: 25 m
Singapore Read Bridge 1.289779, 103.84451°17’23” N 103°50’40” E
Steamy Singapore
20 aprile 2023, Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
We caught the train from the airport to the city, arriving at our hotel at 8am... a little too early to check in, so we dropped our bags and went for a walk in the local area.

We found the nearest supermarket, had some morning tea, and found a few caches before heading back to check-in at 11.30am.

Neither of us slept much on the flight, so we had an afternoon nap before going for another walk along the river late afternoon.

It was very hot walking around, 32 degrees and super humid, so we had a bite of tea and went back to the hotel for a swim before bedtime.Leggi altro
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